Journal of Chitin and Chitosan, v.26, no.1, pp.29 - 35
Abstract
Here, we introduce transparent chitin-silk fibroin composite film, which shows excellent optical and mechanical properties. We fabricated transparent chitin-silk fibroin composite film by impregnating the chitin membranes with an aqueous silk fibroin solution. Chitin membrane is simply produced by an electrospinning process. The chitin-silk fibroin composite film was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectrometry, and tensile test. It was confirmed through the SEM image that the chitin membrane was completely impregnated with an aqueous silk fibroin solution. The chitin membrane impregnated with an aqueous silk fibroin solution has a transmittance of 89%. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the chitin-silk fibroin composite films were improved compared to the silk fibroin film.