Silkworms with Spider Silklike Fibers Using Synthetic Silkworm Chow Containing Calcium Lignosulfonate, Carbon Nanotubes, and Graphene.

ABSTRACT: Silkworm silk has become increasingly relevant for material applications. However, the industry as a whole is retracting because of problems with mass production. One of the key problems is the inconsistent properties of the silk. A means by which to improve the silk material properties is through enhanced sericulture techniques. One possible technique is altering the feed of the silkworms to include single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) or graphene (GR). Recently published results have demonstrated substantial improvement in fiber mechanical properties. However, the effect of the surfactant used to incorporate those materials into the feed on the fiber mechanical properties in comparison to normal silkworm silk has not been studied or reported. Thus, the total effect of feeding the SWNT an

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6647960 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature