Direct High-Throughput Fabrication of Meta-Fiber Composites with High Strength and Malleable Toughness via Bioinspired Assemble-Spinning Strategy

Synthetic plastics have reshaped the Earth and human life by providing enhanced convenience. However, the accumulation of non-biodegradable white plastic waste imposes significant economic burdens. Biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) plastics have emerged as eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives. Yet, their application in industry is limited by their inherent brittleness and poor processability. Inspired by the binary interface-structured fibril/wall configurations of natural lotus peduncles, we address this challenge through a high-throughput assembly spinning strategy to synthesize multi-island/shell interface-engineered PLA/polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) meta-composite fibers. These meta-fibers exhibit numerous one-dimensional parallel fibril “buffer” layers and bridged “wall” layers, which synchronously enhance the strength (55.32 MPa) and ductile toughness (elongation at break improved to 166%). Furthermore, the fluffy sponges with coral-like nanofiber structures obtained via solvent induction exhibit isotropic porous configurations, demonstrating promising performance in oil–water separation (efficiency of 99.9% with an ultrahigh flux of 3324.12 L m–2 h–1) and thermal insulation. This fabrication strategy paves the way for multifunctional, high-performance bioplastic fibers and composites, offering potential for environmental and industrial applications.