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​Researchers combine graphene and silk for advanced microelectronics, wearables and next-gen computing applications 

​Researchers combine graphene and silk for advanced microelectronics, wearables and next-gen computing applications 

While silk protein has been used in designer electronics, its use is currently limited in part because silk fibers are a messy tangle of spaghetti-like strands. To address this, researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Washington, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, North Carolina State University and Xiamen University have developed a uniform two-dimensional (2D) layer of silk protein fragments, or “fibroins,” on graphene. 

Scheme of silk fibroin assembly on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) characterized by in situ AFM. Image from Science Advances

The scientists explained that their work provides a reproducible method for silk protein self-assembly that is essential for designing and fabricating silk-based electronics. They said that the system is nontoxic and water-based, which is vital for biocompatibility.

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While silk protein has been used in designer electronics, its use is currently limited in part because silk fibers are a messy tangle of spaghetti-like strands. To address this, researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Washington, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, North Carolina State University and Xiamen University have developed a uniform two-dimensional (2D) layer of silk protein fragments, or “fibroins,” on graphene. 

Scheme of silk fibroin assembly on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) characterized by in situ AFM. Image from Science Advances
The scientists explained that their work provides a reproducible method for silk protein self-assembly that is essential for designing and fabricating silk-based electronics. They said that the system is nontoxic and water-based, which is vital for biocompatibility. 

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