Self-Healable Spider Dragline Silk Materials |
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Authors: | Wen-Chia Chen Ruei-Ci Wang Sheng-Kai Yu Jheng-Liang Chen Yu-Han Kao Tzi-Yuan Wang Po-Ya Chang Hwo-Shuenn Sheu Ssu-Ching Chen Wei-Ren Liu Ta-I Yang Hsuan-Chen Wu |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei City, 10617 Taiwan;2. Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei City, 11529 Taiwan;3. National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu City, 30076 Taiwan;4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, 32023 Taiwan |
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Abstract: | Developing materials with structural flexibility that permits self-repair in response to external disturbances remains challenging. Spider silk, which combines an exceptional blend of strength and pliability in nature, serves as an ideal dynamic model for adaptive performance design. In this work, a novel self-healing material is generated using spider silk. Dragline silk from spider Nephila pilipes is demonstrated with extraordinary in situ self-repair property through a constructed thin film format, surpassing that of two other silks from spider Cyrtophora moluccensis and silkworm Bombyx mori. Subsequently, R2, a key spidroin associated with self-healing, is biosynthesized, with validated cohesiveness. R2 is further programmed with tunable healability (permanent and reversible) and conductivity (graphene doping; R2G) for electronics applications. In the first demonstration, film strips from R2 and R2G are woven manually into multidimensional (1D-3D) conductive fabrics for creating repairable logic gate circuits. In the second example, a reversibly-healable R2/R2G strip is fabricated as a re-configurable wearable ring probe to fit fingertips of varying widths while retaining its detecting capabilities. Such a prototype displays a unique conformable wearable technology. Last, the remarkable finding of self-healing in spider silk can offer a new material paradigm for developing future adaptive biomaterials with tailored performance and environmental sustainability. |
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Keywords: | graphene nephila pilipes self-healing spider silk wearable electronics |
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