Formation, Structure, and Mechanical Performance of Silk Nanofibrils Produced by Heat-Induced Self-Assembly

Front Cover: In article number 2000435 by Shengjie Ling, Ying Pei, and co-workers, the kinetic behavior of the heat-induced self-assembly of silk fibroin (SF) is studied. The formation of silk nanofibrils (SNFs) occurs through nucleation-dependent aggregation. SF shows inherent fractal growth, and this trend is critical for the short-term assembly. The longterm assembly of SF mainly involves an elongation growth process, which shows bright iridescent colors under polarized light.