Obtaining high mechanical performance silk fibers by feeding purified carbon nanotube/lignosulfonate composite to silkworms

Raman spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), demonstrating that the CNT content in the silk fibers increased 1.5-fold in comparison to the unpurified group. The increased CNT content not only contributed to the self-assembly into buffering knots of silk fibers, but it also enhanced the conductivity of graphitized silk. Our coating and purification strategies provide a potential facile way to obtain natural silk fibers with high mechanical performance.