A new biomaterial has been created that is stronger than steel and spider silk

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A group of Swedish researchers using the DESY PETRA III X-ray source has created a new type of biomaterial, which is the most durable biological material to date. Strength of this material is provided by the finest cellulose fibers, surpassing in their characteristics even spider silk, which until that moment was considered the most durable biomaterial in the world.

Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) are the main material that makes up almost everything of plant origin. Using the manufacturing method they developed, the researchers were able to impart the properties of cellulosic nanofibers to a new lightweight material that could become a cleaner alternative to plastics used in the automotive, furniture, aviation, other industries and medicine.

The scientists took as a basis commercially available cellulose nanofibers, the diameter of which is from 2 to 5 nanometers, and the length is about 700 nanometers. These nanofibers were mixed in water that flowed out through a thin channel one millimeter in diameter. The outlet of this channel passed first through a cavity filled with deionized water and then through water with a low pH value. Due to some technological tricks, the flow of water with nanofibers was accelerated and compressed.

This process was called hydrodynamic focussing, it made it possible to align all the nanofibers in the flow in one direction and they bound into a rather dense thicker fiber, held together by the forces of molecular and supramolecular bonds, such as the van der Waals forces.

Using the X-rays emitted by the PETRA III source, the researchers were able to learn all the details and optimize the manufacturing process as much as possible. And as a result of this, a cellulose thread was born, 15 micrometers thick and several meters long. The tests carried out showed that such a thin thread can withstand a tensile force of 86 GPa, and its ultimate strength is 1.57 GPa.

And in conclusion, we note that these studies open the way to the development of a whole range of new materials based on cellulose nanofibers, which can be used even for the manufacture of large structures due to their high strength. And the modernization of the new technological process, scientists hope, will make it possible to produce threads not from cellulose, but from carbon nanotubes and other nanomaterials. Such threads will be incredibly strong and when they are born, you can start thinking about the practical implementation of such a fantastic idea as a space orbital elevator
. Source: www.dailytechinfo.org