Abstract
The silk/cellulose composite paper was developed to provide novel functions to paper materials, and the enhancement of tensile strength of the composite was investigated. As a result, both physical and mechanical treatment of silk fibers enhanced the paper strength possibly due to different mechanisms. The papermaking technique was also applied to make a preform of fiber-reinforced composite material. The concentration of thickening agent for the viscosity control greatly affected the mechanical strength of the composite materials.
