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Functional Fibers with Unique Wettability Inspired by Spider Silks

  1. Hao Bai2,4,
  2. Jie Ju1,4,
  3. Yongmei Zheng3,*,
  4. Lei Jiang1,*

Article first published online: 10 APR 2012

DOI: 10.1002/adma.201200289

Issue

Advanced Materials

Advanced Materials

Volume 24, Issue 20, pages 2786–2791, May 22, 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Bai, H., Ju, J., Zheng, Y. and Jiang, L. (2012), Functional Fibers with Unique Wettability Inspired by Spider Silks. Adv. Mater., 24: 2786–2791. doi: 10.1002/adma.201200289

Author Information

  1. 1

    Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China

  2. 2

    National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China

  3. 3

    Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing, 100191, P. R. China

  4. 4

    Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China

*Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing, 100191, P. R. China

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 15 MAY 2012
  2. Article first published online: 10 APR 2012

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Keywords:

  • bioinspired;
  • functional;
  • fiber;
  • wettability;
  • spider silk

Abstract

Spider silk has been an attractive biopolymer since ancient times. Learning from both its excellent properties and spinning process, silk provides people with inspiration to develop functional fibers. Recently, inspired by shiny water droplets on a spider's web, we revealed that the capture silk of the cribellate spider would deform to have a special periodic spindle-knots structure and hence displayed unique wettability, making it efficient at directional water-collecting. This provides insights in designing functional fibers with unique wettability, by either creating special structures on the fiber surface, or modifying it with responsive molecules. These bioinspired functional fibers may find applications in many fields, such as water collection, smart catalysis, filtration, and sensing.

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