Using solvents with different molecular sizes to investigate the structure of Antheraea pernyi silk

The interaction between silk and polar solvents of different molecular size can be an important tool for understanding the structural features of natural silk; in particular, the disordered regions associated with the key property of mechanical toughness. In this work, we investigate the transitions induced in the tensile performance and structure of as-reeled Antheraea pernyi silks from different silkworms by a range of solvents that can only soften the protein chains in the amorphous regions. The results indicate that polar solvents with different molecular sizes affect the silk to different degrees, and silks with slightly different structures display significantly different tensile performance in the same solvent. The solvent molecular size is quantitatively correlated with the accessible volume in the amorphous regions before and after the yield point, which suggests that the volume accessible to the solvent molecules decreases as the solvent radius increases. Moreover, silks with more ordered structure (less free volume) in the amorphous regions are less sensitive to solvents than those with more disordered structures. However, silks with higher free volume have higher toughness due to the greater strain to failure.