A Conjugated Electrospinning‐Based Silk‐Carbon Fiber Core‐Spun Yarns for Advanced High‐Modulus Carbon Fiber Composites

ABSTRACT High modulus carbon fibers (HMCF) are characterized by inherent brittleness and susceptibility to processing damage, resulting in compromised forming efficiency and inferior impact resistance of their reinforced composites. Herein, the silk‐carbon fiber core‐spun yarns (SCFs), featuring HMCF as the core and silk fibroin nanofibers as the spun yarns, were fabricated using the conjugated electrospinning technology. Due to the circumferential wrapping of silk nanofibers acting as an energy‐absorbing cushion and buffer layer, the flexibility of the SCFs was significantly enhanced. Notably, the SCF‐4, with a linear density of 184.5 g km ⁻¹ , achieved a loop strength of 40.43 N, corresponding to a 168.82% increase compared to the pure HMCF. The SCFs/Epoxy (EP) composites also demonstrated improved impact resistance and overall mechanical performance, with an impact strength of 31.18 kJ m ⁻² , representing a 54.2% enhancement over the pure HMCF/EP composite. This development introduces a new hybrid fiber composite for advanced HMCF applications.