title: Bioinspired green composite lotus fibers.
abstract: Owing to the growing global environmental problems, demands for environmentally friendly, fully biodegradable sustainable composites have substantially increased across various industries. Inspired by the composite structure of cocoon silk, we fabricated a fully green composite fiber (GCF) that is based on the lotus fiber (LF) and a biodegradable polymer, namely poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). After the formation of cross-linkages between the LF and PVA, the mechanical properties of this bioinspired GCF had substantially improved. In particular, the specific mechanical properties are superior to those of cocoon silk and other natural fibers. These findings suggest that LFs may be used as reinforcement materials for the fabrication of bulk green materials for various industries, such as the textile, medical, automobile, and aerospace industries.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Energy Materials and Devices, School of Chemistry and Environment, BeiHang University, Beijing 100191 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Mengxi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shuai
authors.forename: Qunfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D000070116:Lotus / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers
keywords: bioinspired chemistry; composite fibers; lotus fiber; mechanical properties; polymers