Spinning Angora Rabbit Wool-Like Porous Fibers from a Non-Equilibrated Gelatin/Water/2-Propanol Mixture

Due to their porous structure, angora rabbit fibers make for some of the highest quality wool. The application of these fibers on a technical scale is not feasible due to their limited availability and high price. Here, a robust fiber preparation method is reported based on an unusual spinning process, where a non‐equilibrated, ternary system of protein, solvent, and non‐solvent is continuously processed into strong fibers with minimal energy input and harmless solvents. Gelatin—the degradation product of collagen—is chosen as the protein component because of its immense availability from slaughterhouse waste. Due to the sponge‐like structure of the ternary gelatin/water/2‐propanol spinning mixture, fibers with internal cavities are produced. The porous nature of these fibers resembles the morphology of angora rabbit fibers. Despite their high porosity, the here‐obtained gelatin fibers show clear re‐orientation of the fibrous protein and attain a mechanical performance similar to other bio‐ (e.g., wool, tendon collagen) and synthetic polymers (e.g., polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamide 6). These promising results motivate for broader investigations on the spinning of non‐equilibrium protein mixtures and suggest the use of porous gelatin fibers in textiles. The continuous spinning of angora rabbit wool‐like fibers from a non‐equilibrated gelatin/water/2‐propanol mixture using the presented process allows the production of protein fibers with simultaneous high porosity and promising mechanical properties.