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The Chemistry and Reactivity of Silk

  • Chapter
Chemistry of Natural Protein Fibers

Abstract

Silk fibers have long caught the imagination of man from both scientific and technological viewpoints. The production of silk for textile purposes, sericulture, was practiced in the Far East over 4000 years ago. The first recorded commercial production was during the reign of the Chinese emperor Huang Ti in 2640 B.C. This emperor based the Chinese economy on silk production and the fiber had a vital role as a medium of exchange within the country, as well as being an important export commodity. The Chinese guarded their knowledge of sericulture and weaving techniques for many centuries, but, eventually, the techniques spread via Korea to Japan and India.

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  1. Department of Industrial Chemistry, The Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    M. S. Otterburn

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  1. The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    R. S. Asquith

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© 1977 Plenum Press, New York

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Otterburn, M.S. (1977). The Chemistry and Reactivity of Silk. In: Asquith, R.S. (eds) Chemistry of Natural Protein Fibers. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4109-3_2

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