Enhanced thermal and mechanical properties of natural silkworm cocoon composites constructed by multi-silkworm larvae simultaneously

摘要

In this study, we developed a simple route to fabricate natural silkworm cocoon composites with dense fiber networks and low porosities. The thermal and mechanical properties of these modified cocoons are significantly improved. Especially, the tensile strength, elongation, toughness and the average peeling force of the cocoon constructed by three silkworm larvae simultaneously are found to be 1.7, 1.5, 2.1 and 2.1 times higher than those of the normal cocoon, respectively. These special cocoons with good mechanical properties could be applied to produce high-performance artificial cocoon composites, biomimetic and ballistic materials. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.