Pultrusion-Guided Biomimetic Wet Spinning Yields Tough, Ionically Conductive Silk Fibers for Integrated Ionotronics and Electroluminescent Textiles

Natural silk spinning exemplifies a pathway-dependent material construction, in which soft protein precursors are transformed into fibers that combine high strength, toughness, and functionality under mild conditions. Replicating such a pathway-governed integration in artificial fibers, particularly while enabling functional conductivity and device compatibility, remains challenging. Here, we report a biomimetic, pathway-guided wet-spinning strategy to construct multicomponent silk-based fibers that integrate mechanical robustness with high ionic conductivity. By directly dissolving undegummed silkworm cocoons, we establish an intrinsically multicomponent spinning dope that undergoes mesoscale preorganization and traction-dominated solidification. This process converts preorganized structures into an oriented fibroin nanofibrillar scaffold while preserving a continuous, reconfigurable interfacial network enriched in sericin and ionic species. The resulting fibers exhibit a balanced combination of strength, stiffness, and toughness, together with ionic conductivity comparable to soft ionic conductors. Importantly, stable ionic transport is maintained under large deformation, enabling strain sensing and direct textile integration. Textiles with crossing-point structures further support dynamic electroluminescent display under complex geometries. This work highlights pathway reconstruction as an effective route for integrating structure, function, and device compatibility in multifunctional fibers.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published
2026-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c04184
Primary Topic
Silk-based biomaterials and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Pultrusion-Guided Biomimetic Wet Spinning Yields Tough, Ionically Conductive Silk Fibers for Integrated Ionotronics and Electroluminescent Textiles

Shengjie Ling, Tengfei Kong, Jinpeng Mo, J W Ren et al.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Silk-based biomaterials and applications
article

Pultrusion-Guided Biomimetic Wet Spinning Yields Tough, Ionically Conductive Silk Fibers for Integrated Ionotronics and Electroluminescent Textiles

Shengjie Ling, Tengfei Kong, Jinpeng Mo, J W Ren, Meilin Huang, ChunPing Ma, Shiyu Zhang, Yanan Gao, LongFei Fan, Zihan Lin, Chao Ye, Fei Wang, Xi Yu, Yang Wang
article en

Abstract

Natural silk spinning exemplifies a pathway-dependent material construction, in which soft protein precursors are transformed into fibers that combine high strength, toughness, and functionality under mild conditions. Replicating such a pathway-governed integration in artificial fibers, particularly while enabling functional conductivity and device compatibility, remains challenging. Here, we report a biomimetic, pathway-guided wet-spinning strategy to construct multicomponent silk-based fibers that integrate mechanical robustness with high ionic conductivity. By directly dissolving undegummed silkworm cocoons, we establish an intrinsically multicomponent spinning dope that undergoes mesoscale preorganization and traction-dominated solidification. This process converts preorganized structures into an oriented fibroin nanofibrillar scaffold while preserving a continuous, reconfigurable interfacial network enriched in sericin and ionic species. The resulting fibers exhibit a balanced combination of strength, stiffness, and toughness, together with ionic conductivity comparable to soft ionic conductors. Importantly, stable ionic transport is maintained under large deformation, enabling strain sensing and direct textile integration. Textiles with crossing-point structures further support dynamic electroluminescent display under complex geometries. This work highlights pathway reconstruction as an effective route for integrating structure, function, and device compatibility in multifunctional fibers.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Fudan University (CN), Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (UA), Ingenierie des Materiaux polymeres (FR), Yancheng Institute of Technology (CN)
Foundation for Distinguished Young Talents in Higher Education of Guangdong
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Silk-based biomaterials and applications
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