▎ 摘　　要

NOVELTY - Composite material having a porous graphene-based foam matrix, comprises porous inorganic micro-particles and metal oxide nano-particles distributed throughout the foam matrix. USE - The composite material is useful for removing a target species from liquid or gas, where the liquid is an aqueous liquid and the gas is a flue, combustion or exhaust gas, and the target species are anions derived from at least one of phosphorus, nitrile, arsenic and chromium, or cations derived from at least one of mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, gold, uranium, polonium and thorium (all claimed) or organic molecules including crude oil, commercial petroleum products (including gasoline, diesel and petrol) and fats (including vegetable oils and paraffin), organic solvents, including toluene, hexane, pentane, octane, heptane, tetrahydrofuran and dimethylfluoride, dyes, pesticides, herbicides and biomolecules including proteins, peptides, enzymes and nucleic acids. ADVANTAGE - The composite material exhibits: a density of 0.01-0.1 mg/cm3 (claimed); high selectivity and efficiency for removing heavy metal ions from liquid or gas; improved adsorption capacity of ionic species than individual components; and robust physical properties and high surface area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is also included for preparing the composite material comprising (a) providing a liquid dispersion comprising dispersed graphene-based material, porous inorganic micro-particles and metal oxide nano-particles, (b) forming a gel from the liquid dispersion, and (c) forming the composite material by removing liquid from the formed gel.