Scientists from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have created the blackest material, which is said to absorb 98 to 99 percent of light from all angles of its surface.
"The ideal thing to absorb energy would be a dark material that absorbs radiation and at all angles and polarizations," the researchers wrote, according to the Independent.
The material is made up of carbon nanotubes, built through a series of nanoparticle spheres, each with a nano-cylinder resting on top of it, Gizmodo reports.
The researchers got the inspiration of the material from the all-white cyphochilus beetle because of its scales' ability to form a photonic crystal structure that makes it reflect light efficiently. With this knowledge, the scientists decided to try and invert the process, making it absorb as much light as possible, resulting in a material that is now known to be 26 percent blacker than the previous "blackest material" title holder - carbon nanotubes, according to International Business Times.
The material can also be diluted in liquid, making it more possible to use the material in different contexts, according to the paper published in Nature Nanotechnology.
Researchers also say that this new material can greatly help in the development of solar energy systems, as its light-absorbing capacity can be adapted to make solar panels more efficient.
