Hierarchical materials from fused silk (opens in new tab)

Silk is an extraordinary natural material whose unique chemistry and hierarchical organization enable performance beyond that of many synthetic counterparts. However, its poor processability arising from the molecular folding patterns of fibroin makes fabricating shapes other than fibres conceptually challenging. Here we report a simple and rapid thermomechanical process to fuse silk fibres into solid materials of arbitrary shapes. This approach avoids silk dissolution and subsequent regenera...