Sparkes, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-1961-1384 and Holland, C. orcid.org/0000-0003-0913-2221 (2018) The energy requirements for flow-induced solidification of silk. Macromolecular Bioscience. 1800229. ISSN 1616-5187
Abstract
Natural silk spinning has undergone strong selection for resource efficiency and thus presents a biomimetic ideal for fiber production. Industrial replication of natural silk fibers would enable access to low energy, cost-efficient processing, but is hampered by a lack of understanding surrounding the conversion of liquid feedstock into a solid fiber as a result of flow. Previously, shear stress, shear rate, or time have been presented as criteria for silk fiber formation, but here it is proposed that spinning requires carefully balancing all three, and is a result of controlled energy accumulation in the feedstock. To support this hypothesis, rheology is used to probe the energy required for conversion, compare differences between amorphous solid and ordered fiber production and explain the energetic penalty the latter demands. New definitions of what constitutes an artificial silk fiber are discussed, along with methods to ensure that each spinning criterion is met during biomimetic spinning.
Metadata
Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Macromolecular Bioscience. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Bombyx mori; fibroin; rheology; silk spinning; steady shear |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 01 Oct 2018 15:10 |
Last Modified: | 15 Jul 2020 09:41 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201800229 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201800229 |
Related URLs: |