Highly strong and tough silk by feeding silkworms with rare earth ion-modified diets.
Sci Bull (Beijing)
; 68(23): 2973-2981, 2023 Dec 15.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37798179
ABSTRACT
Nature-derived silk fibers possess excellent biocompatibility, sustainability, and mechanical properties, yet producing strong and tough silk fibers in a facile and large-scale manner remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a simple method for preparing strong and tough silk fibers by feeding silkworms rare earth ion-modified diets. The resulting silk fibers exhibit significantly increased tensile strength and toughness, with average values of 0.85 ± 0.07 GPa and 156 ± 13 MJ m-3, respectively, and maximum values of 0.97 ± 0.04 GPa and 188 ± 19 MJ m-3, approaching those of spider dragline silk. Our findings suggest that the incorporation of rare earth ions (La3+ or Eu3+) into the silk fibers contributes to this enhancement. Structure analysis reveals a reduction in content and an improvement in orientation of ß-sheet nanocrystals in silk fibers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirms the chemical interaction between rare earth ions with ß-sheet nanocrystals. The structural evolution and chemical interactions lead to the simultaneous enhancement in both strength and toughness. This work presents a simple, scalable, and effective strategy for producing ultra-strong and tough silk fibers with potential applications in areas requiring super structural materials, such as personal protection and aerospace.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bombyx
/
Silk
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Bull (Beijing)
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China
Publication country:
HOLANDA
/
HOLLAND
/
NETHERLANDS
/
NL
/
PAISES BAJOS
/
THE NETHERLANDS