Functionalized Silk Materials

Abstract : The significance of the project is that a new family of functional materials and coatings derived from the silk systems will be generated, with the silk component serving as the organizing moiety and the functional domains added to the silk providing enhanced properties for the materials--thus, light weight materials, electronic properties and related features are anticipated through the precise control of functional domains within and on the silk well-defined material templates. As examples, light weight strong porous matrices formed from silks and silk composites, by exploitation of silk gelation features will be pursued. A next generation set of robust materials for a range of functional applications of potential relevance to Air Force needs is envisioned with the technology under study.