National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Department of Physics, Florida State University, 1800 East Paul Dirac Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32310, USA.
Nat Commun. 2013;4:2435. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3435.
Understanding the compatibility between spider silk and conducting materials is essential to advance the use of spider silk in electronic applications. Spider silk is tough, but becomes soft when exposed to water. Here we report a strong affinity of amine-functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes for spider silk, with coating assisted by a water and mechanical shear method. The nanotubes adhere uniformly and bond to the silk fibre surface to produce tough, custom-shaped, flexible and electrically conducting fibres after drying and contraction. The conductivity of coated silk fibres is reversibly sensitive to strain and humidity, leading to proof-of-concept sensor and actuator demonstrations.
理解蜘蛛丝与导电材料之间的兼容性对于推进蜘蛛丝在电子应用中的使用至关重要。蜘蛛丝坚韧，但遇水变软。在此，我们报告了经胺功能化的多壁碳纳米管对蜘蛛丝的强烈亲和力，通过水和机械剪切辅助的方法进行涂层。纳米管均匀地附着并结合到丝纤维表面，在干燥和收缩后产生坚韧、定制形状、灵活且导电的纤维。涂覆后的丝纤维的导电性对应变和湿度具有可逆敏感性，从而实现了概念验证传感器和致动器的演示。
