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Investigation of Synthetic Spider Silk Crystallinity and Alignment via Electrothermal, Pyroelectric, Literature XRD, and Tensile Techniques
Author(s) -
Munro Troy,
Putzeys Tristan,
Copeland Cameron G.,
Xing Changhu,
Lewis Randolph V.,
Ban Heng,
Glorieux Christ,
Wubbenhorst Michael
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201600480
Subject(s) - silk , materials science , spider silk , crystallinity , synthetic fiber , composite material , spinning , fiber , modulus , characterization (materials science) , pyroelectricity , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , dielectric , ferroelectricity
The processes used to create synthetic spider silk greatly affect the properties of the produced fibers. This paper investigates the effect of process variations during artificial spinning on the thermal and mechanical properties of the produced silk. Property values are also compared to the ones of the natural dragline silk of the Nephila clavipes spider, and to unprocessed (as‐spun) synthetic silk. Structural characterization by scanning pyroelectric microscopy is employed to provide insight into the axial orientation of the crystalline regions of the fiber and is supported by X‐ray diffraction data. The results show that stretching and passage through liquid baths induce crystal formation and axial alignment in synthetic fibers, but with different structural organization than natural silks. Furthermore, an increase in thermal diffusivity and elastic modulus is observed with decreasing fiber diameter, trending toward properties of natural fiber. This effect seems to be related to silk fibers being subjected to a radial gradient during production.