Using In Situ Polymerization to Increase Puncture Resistance and Induce Reversible Formability in Silk Membranes
Abstract
Silk fibroin is an excellent biopolymer for application in a variety of areas, such as textiles, medicine, composites and as a novel material for additive manufacturing. In this work, silk membranes were surface modified by in situ polymerization of aqueous acrylic acid, initiated by the reduction of various aryldiazonium salts with vitamin C. Treatment times of 20 min gave membranes which possessed increased tensile strength, tensile modulus, and showed significant increased resistance to needle puncture (+131%), relative to ‘untreated’ standards. Most interestingly, the treated silk membranes were able to be reversibly formed into various shapes via the hydration and plasticizing of the surface bound poly(acrylic acid), by simply steaming the modified membranes. These membranes and their unique properties have potential applications in advanced textiles, and as medical materials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 14, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.3390/ma13102252
Entities
People
- Andreas Hendlmeier
- Benjamin J Allardyce
- Daniel J Eyckens
- Filip Stojcevski
- Lachlan C Soulsby
- Luke C Henderson
- Melissa K. Stanfield
- Nicholas S. Emonson
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research Global