Preparation and Characterization of Silk and Mulberry/Silk Papers

Papers were prepared from cut cocoons and mulberry branches, which are byproducts from sericulture industry. The long filament of silk should be cut into appropriate length in order to prepare paper and this was achieved by chemical method. By a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate solution, the silk filaments were cut into short fibers (less than 1 mm in length). Since the short silk fibers (sSf) could not bind each other by itself, starch and poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) were added as a bonding agent. When starch and PEO were used in a ratio of 3:7, the silk papers had optimum mechanical properties for paper. Fibers from the skin of mulberry branches (MBF) were added to sSf to enhance the mechanical properties of pure silk paper. Bleaching of MBF was performed with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sodium silicate. The mechanical properties were greatly enhanced and the optimum blend ratio of MBF and sSf were 7:3. The mulberry/silk paper has good absorption property against formaldehyde, and therefore, the paper could be applied as a wall paper for preventing the sick house syndrome.