Physical properties of silk fibers grafted with vinyltrimethoxysilane

Silk fibers from Bombyx mori silkworms were grafted using a novel grafting monomer, vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMSi), with various grafting initiators. T he effects of these grafting initiators were evaluated. It was possible to successfully copolymerize VTMSi within the silk fiber matrix without distur bing the fine structure of the fiber matrix, which was shown by FTIR analys is and refractive index measurements. The physical properties of VTMSi graf ted silk were analyzed and compared to fibers grafted with conventional mon omers such as methyl methacrylate, methacrylamide, and 2-hydroxyethyl metha crylate. No trend in the tensile strength and elongation at break was obser ved when grafting silk fibers with VTMSi. Crease recovery in the wet state improved significantly, suggesting that this new grafting technique is impo rtant for the production of washable silk fabrics. The thermal stability of VTMSi grafted silk fibers was improved as shown by the shift of the endoth ermic peak for the thermal decomposition toward higher temperatures. (C) 20 01 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.