SYDNEY, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- European scientists have made spiders produce webs strong enough to hold a human, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.
According to a research led by Nicola Pugno at Italy's University of Trento, the new web combines spider silk with grapheme and carbon nanotubes. The composite material is five times stronger than spider silk.
It is sound simple to make the composite as the spider can produce the strong silk by itself after drinking water containing the nanotubes.
"It is among the best spun polymer fibers in terms of tensile strength, ultimate strain, and especially toughness, even when compared to synthetic fibers such as Kevlar," said Pugno.
Kevlar is a trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber produced by Dupont company. Famous for its tensile force, Kevlar fiber is reported five times stronger than steel.
So far, the composite material is produced on a small proof-of-concept scale. Though it still needs further testing and refinement for mass utility, the research team composed of Italian and British scientists see bright future in the new material.
"Furthermore, this process of the natural integration of reinforcements in biological structural materials could also be applied to other animals and plants, leading to a new class of 'bionicomposites' for innovative applications," Pugno said.
