Tuning water-responsiveness with Bombyx mori silk-silica nanoparticle composites.

Jung, Yeojin; Sharifi Golru, Samaneh; Li, Tai-De; Biddinger, Elizabeth J; Tu, Raymond S; Chen, Xi · Soft Matter · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Bombyx (B.) mori silk's water-responsive actuation correlates to its high β-sheet crystallinity. In this research, we demonstrated that stiff silica nanoparticles can mimic the role of dispersed β-sheet nanocrystals and dramatically increase amorphous silk's water-responsive actuation energy density to ∼700 kJ m<sup>-3</sup>.

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