A Comparison of the Chemical Structures and Production Methods of Silk and Artificial Silk
Abstract
Despite their seemingly similar exteriors, the chemical structures and production methods
of natural silk and the artificial silks rayon and nylon are quite different. Silk yarn, extracted
from the cocoon of the Bombyx mori moth, is made up of fibroin molecules with beta-pleated
sheet secondary structures. The fibroin molecules consist of crystalline fibers constructed of
regularly paralleled, unfolded polypeptide chains of polyglycylalanine mixed with an amorphous
part. Although viscose rayon was originally called “artificial silk,” it is not a truly synthetic
fiber, as it is made from wood pulp, a naturally-occurring, cellulose-based material. Nylon,
however, is a synthetic fiber. It is a polyamide whose molecular chains are formed by regularly
spaced –CONH– amide groups. Nylon 6-6, or poly(hexamethylneadipamide), is composed of
two structural monomers (hexamethylendiamine (H2N(CH2)6NH2) and adipic acid
(HOOC(CH2)4COOH), whereas Nylon 6, or poly(6-caprolactam), is composed of a single
structural unit (either 6-aminocaproic acid (H2N(CH2)4COOH) or caprolactam). Ultimately, the
different chemistries and production methods of these fibers give them certain advantages (such
as viscose’s ability to combine with other fibers to create new fabrics easily) and disadvantages
(such as nylon’s quickly weakening fibers or natural silk’s difficulty of production) over one
another that make them more or less suitable for certain purposes. For this reason, when
considering silk and artificial silk, it is illogical to pick one fiber that is superior to the others and
to focus on the production of that specific fiber.
A Compa...
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...hese materials were used because they could be easily found at a low price compared to Hemp fiber and silk. Hemp fiber and silk were used at first but then the Chinese realized there are greater uses for this material. Therefore they started to use the worn fishnet, bark and cloth.
Smith, J. 2009. Making Cotton King. World Trade, July 1, 82. http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/ (accessed January 6, 2010).
silk from spiders is not cost effective, so most research is focused on synthesis of spider silk
STRUCTURE Kevlar Aramid Fiber is a synthetic (man-made) material known as Polymer. A polymer is a chain that is made up of many similar molecular groups, better known as ‘monomers’ that are bonded together. The ‘Monomers’ are made up of fourteen Carbon atoms, two Nitrogen atoms, two Oxygen atoms and ten Hydrogen atoms. A single Kevlar polymer chain could possibly have anywhere from one to five million monomers bonded together. A group of polymer chains can be organised together in a fiber.
Australia is the world’s largest wool producing country, and has been for decades. The fine quality of wool from the result of fine breeding has definitely help contribute to the high demand of the wool industry. Much of Australia’s wool has been exported to other countries such as China, Italy, Taiwan, Republic of Korea and France. However, Australia’s wool production has been decreasing for the last 10 years and the demand has been declining because of the other, easier to manage, synthetic fibers and materials that have been introduced to the market. This following report is regarding the changes and effects the wool industry had on Australia in the 19th century, the reasons for the successful development of the wool industry, and also Australia’s current position in wool production.
Forensic analysis of dyed textile fibers. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2009Aug; 394(8):2009-18. Epub 2009 Jun 20.
There are two popular ways of creating nylon for fiber applications. One, ¡°molecules with an acid (COOH) group on each end are reacted with molecules containing amine (NH©ü) groups on each end.¡± The nylon 6,6 is made in this fashion. The other common way of making nylon fibers is by polymerizing a compound containing an amine at one end and an acid at the other, to form a chain with reoccurring groups of (-NH-[CH©ü]n-CO-)x. If the x=5, the fiber is named nylon 6 (Nylon Fiber).
Plant fibers have long been used to make thread, cloth, and other textiles. Banana fibers are generally softer and more lustrous than other members of the bast ...
Medieval period was all about fashion and essentials of what people wore. Fashion and necessity were fulfilled through the available materials which varied across the centuries of middle ages. The materials available for use in medieval clothing included:Wool,Silk,Linen,Hemp,Cotton,Leather,Fur Different fabrics like taffeta, velvet and damask were made from textiles like silk, cotton and linen using specific weaving techniques and these were among the more expensive fabrics available. Colors Found in Medieval Clothing-Dyes were made using natural sources like plants, roots, lichen, tree bark, nuts, crushed insects, mollusks and iron oxide.
Weaving is a common thread among cultures around the world. Weaving is a way of producing cloth or textile. Today we have machines that weave large-scale textiles at cheap prices. Production of cloth by hand is rarely engaged in today’s Westernized societies. Not many people are thinking about how the fibers are actually constructed to make their clothes. However, in other cultures across the world the tradition of weaving still exists. By comparing three cultures that continue weaving as a part of their tradition we can see similarities and the differences between them. The reasons that each culture still weaves vary, as do the methods and materials. The desired characteristics of the cloth also vary around the world as each culture values different aesthetics.
Cotton is soft, it is comfortable to wear. For the tensile strength of cotton, cotton is considered as a
Silk has always played a vital role in the art of Indian sarees. Be in marriage or any festival when it came to sarees silk was the key player from time immemorial. History if followed well would tell us that the Indian sarees had a strong base for silk as the fabric used the basic material of weaving a saree.
Cotton is the major textile fiber used by man. Cotton was grown on more than 5 lacs farmers in 19 states in 1959 in USA. The world...
Silkworms don’t exhibit the territorialism and cannibalism as seen with spiders, and hence, can be cultivated in mass. This method of cultivating silk is less expensive to scale up the products, and the hosts are naturally equipped to spin silk fibers, hence less work is needed to process the assembled fibers. One requirement of this method of production is that silkworms still produce endogenous silk proteins, thus the resulting product is actually a combination of both silkworm and spider silk fibers. On the other hand the composite fibers have been shown to be tougher than the parental silkworm fibers, and as tough as the native dragline silk fibers. Another down fall is the low level of incorporation of chimeric spider silk fibers in the
The main problem which was needed to overcome was the selection of the fabric. Due to sustainable principle, I tried best to find the most sustainable fabrics; however, it was full of challenge. 100% silk organza, 100% silk taffeta and 100% Merino wool which were essential in my project were hard to discover in the fabric market in the UK. After consideration, I decided to order these expensive fabrics from China and finally sorted out the problem.