Abstract
Here, inspired by the fibrous composite structure of a squid pen, we introduce hierarchical chitin fibers (herein, termed “Chiber”) and their transparent composites and demonstrate the potential of these chitinous functional materials as a sustainable separation-membrane and reinforcing filler for composites. We employ a centrifugal jet-spinning process to fabricate Chiber with aligned chitin nanofibrillar architectures, for which we discuss the processing-morphology relationship. A nonwoven fiber-mat made of Chiber exhibits excellent adsorbing performance for a toxic ionic dye (Congo Red), and has a low coefficient of thermal expansion comparable to that of glass fibers. Finally, we demonstrate a squid pen-mimetic transparent composite using Chiber and investigate its optical property.
Highlights
Squid pen-inspired chitinous functional materials: Hierarchical chitin fibers by centrifugal jet-spinning and transparent chitin fiber-reinforced composite
The squid pen is a fibrous composite consisting of multiscale fiber bundles, in which the protein-wrapped chitin nanofibrils (3-5 nm) are aligned collectively to form the fibers of larger scales.[14]. Such a hierarchical fibrous composite structure of the squid pen contributes to its mechanical stiffness and toughness, allowing this mineral-free chitinous endoskeleton to support and stabilize squids’ body.[20]
Inspired by the squid pen, we report on the fabrication of hierarchical chitin fibers (Chiber) and their fiber-reinforced transparent composites emulating the chitinous fiber composite structure of the squid pen
Summary
Squid pen-inspired chitinous functional materials: Hierarchical chitin fibers by centrifugal jet-spinning and transparent chitin fiber-reinforced composite.
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