Silk is a naturally found biodegradable polymer/fiber with remarkable tensile strength, toughness and elasticity, comparably higher than the high-performance man-made polymers (e.g., Kevlar, Nylon 6,6). The outstanding mechanical properties of silk originate from silk fibroin (SF) which is a primary protein component found in the core of silk threads. The SF can be synthetically mimicked to linear segmented polymers with alternating crystalline β sheet forming alanine and amorphous poly(ethylene glycol) blocks. We explored various approaches for synthesizing silk-like polymers with precisely defined crystalline alanine blocks, via solid-phase peptide synthesis, ring opening polymerization, step-growth polymerization and microwave-assisted click chemistry. Resultant polymers formed antiparallel β-sheets and nanofibers, consistent with the structure of SF. Here, I will elaborate our group’s effort in synthesizing silk like polymer and its use in chemical reduction of graphite oxide.

Silk like polymer: Chemical synthesis & use

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

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