Hierarchical design of silkworm silk for functional composites.

Journal: Chemical Society reviews
Published Date: May 19, 2025

Abstract

Silk-reinforced composites (SRCs) manifest the unique properties of silkworm silk fibers, offering enhanced mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. These composites present an eco-friendly alternative to conventional synthetic materials, with applications expanding beyond biomedical engineering, flexible electronics, and environmental filtration. This review explores the diverse forms of silkworm silk fibers including fabrics, long fibers, and nanofibrils, for functional composites. It highlights advancements in composite design and processing techniques that allow precise engineering of mechanical and functional performance. Despite substantial progress, challenges remain in making optimally functionalized SRCs with multi-faceted performance and understanding the mechanics for reverse-design of SRCs. Future research should focus on the unique sustainable, biodegradable and biocompatible advantages and embrace advanced processing technology, as well as artificial intelligence-assisted material design to exploit the full potential of SRCs. This review on SRCs will offer a foundation for future advancements in multifunctional and high-performance silk-based composites.

Authors

  • Kang Yang
    School of Pharmacy, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China.
  • Jingwu Zhang
    School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Maanshan, 243002, P. R. China.
  • Chen Zhang
    Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
  • Juan Guan
    School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China. juan.guan@buaa.edu.cn.
  • Shengjie Ling
    School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, 393 Middle Huaxia Road, Shanghai, 201210, China. lingshj@shanghaitech.edu.cn.
  • Zhengzhong Shao
    State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.

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