Nanofibers, especially native biopolymer nanofibers such as cellulose, chitin and silk nanofiber from top-down approaches, have drawn a great deal of attentions for advanced applications due to native biopolymer nanofibers are one of the most important contributors to the robust mechanical performance and functions of natural materials. Compared with the advanced direct extraction trials for cellulose and chitin nanofibers, nanosilk from top-down approaches remains in its infancy due to the high crystallinity and sophisticated hierarchical structures of silk fibers. To produce nanosilk, in this work, an environmentally friendly and recyclable deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment was conducted first to loosen the sophisticated structures of natural silk fibers, and moderate mechanical disintegration was utilized in succession to directly downsize natural silks into silk nanowhiskers (SNWs) with high yield and the diameter of the nanowhisker agreed well with the diameter of single nanofiber found in natural silks. Besides, the inherent amphoteric properties of SNWs were explored to endow the composite membranes (SNW-cellulose/chitin nanofiber) with protein-induced double adsorption properties, which might have good prospects as transparent anticounterfeiting devices.

Facile extraction of natural silk nanowhiskers: Application in amphoteric property-induced cellulose/chitin composite membranes

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.