Regeneration of high-quality silk fibroin fiber by wet spinning from CaCl2-formic acid solvent.

Abstract

Silks spun by silkworms and spiders feature outstanding mechanical properties despite being spun under benign conditions. The superior physical properties of silk are closely related to its complicated hierarchical structures constructed from nanoscale building blocks, such as nanocrystals and nanofibrils. Here, we report a novel silk dissolution behavior, which preserved nanofibrils in CaCl2-formic acid solution, that enables spinning of high-quality fibers with a hierarchical structure. This process is characterized by simplicity, high efficiency, low cost, environmental compatibility and large-scale industrialization potential, as well as having utility and potential for the recycling of silk waste and the production of silk-based functional materials.