Vantablack is a material developed by Surrey NanoSystems in the United Kingdom and is one of the darkest substances known, absorbing up to 99.96% of visible light (at 663 nm if the light is perpendicular to the material).
Etymology
The name is a compound of the acronym VANTA (Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays)and the color black.
Properties
Vantablack is composed of a forest of vertical tubes "grown" on a substrate using a modified chemical vapor deposition process. When light strikes Vantablack, instead of bouncing off from it, it becomes trapped and is continually deflected amongst the tubes, eventually becoming absorbed and dissipating into heat.
Vantablack was an improvement over similar substances developed at the time. Vantablack absorbs up to 99.96% of visible light and can be created at 400 °C (752 °F). NASA had previously developed a similar substance that was grown at 750 °C (1,380 °F), so it required materials to be more heat resistant than Vantablack.
The outgassing and particle fallout levels of Vantablack are low. The high levels in similar substances in the past had limited their commercial utility. Vantablack also has greater resistance to mechanical vibration, and has greater thermal stability.
Vantablack S-VIS, a sprayable paint that uses randomly-aligned carbon nanotubes and only has high absorption in the visible light band, has been exclusively licensed to Anish Kapoor's studio for artistic use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack
Etymology
The name is a compound of the acronym VANTA (Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays)and the color black.
Properties
Vantablack is composed of a forest of vertical tubes "grown" on a substrate using a modified chemical vapor deposition process. When light strikes Vantablack, instead of bouncing off from it, it becomes trapped and is continually deflected amongst the tubes, eventually becoming absorbed and dissipating into heat.
Vantablack was an improvement over similar substances developed at the time. Vantablack absorbs up to 99.96% of visible light and can be created at 400 °C (752 °F). NASA had previously developed a similar substance that was grown at 750 °C (1,380 °F), so it required materials to be more heat resistant than Vantablack.
The outgassing and particle fallout levels of Vantablack are low. The high levels in similar substances in the past had limited their commercial utility. Vantablack also has greater resistance to mechanical vibration, and has greater thermal stability.
Vantablack S-VIS, a sprayable paint that uses randomly-aligned carbon nanotubes and only has high absorption in the visible light band, has been exclusively licensed to Anish Kapoor's studio for artistic use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vantablack