Self-Organization of Fiber Assemblies Driven by Adhesive Interactions—Emerging Structures and Properties

Materials made from fibers are ubiquitous in biology and engineering. These include collagen-based biomaterials, gels, molecular networks such as rubber, buckypaper, nanocellulose, and many others. Fiber self-organization may take place due to adhesive interactions, provided the fibers are free to move (are not embedded in a solid matrix) and are thin enough. We consider two cases, in which self-organization takes place without crosslinking, and in which crosslinking occurs concomitantly with adhesion-driven self-organization. In both cases, the self-organization process leads to complex structures. We determine using models of fibrous assemblies the types of structures that emerge function of the parameters of the system, such as the fiber length, fiber density and the strength of adhesion. Further, we investigate the mechanical properties of the resulting structures and conclude that these are controlled primarily by adhesive interactions and less by the deformation of fibers. Hence, fibrous networks with adhesion behave differently from their counterparts without adhesion. Further, we study the interplay between crosslinking and adhesion-driven self-organization and its effect on the overall mechanical behaviour of fiber networks. The conclusions obtained are of importance for understanding the mechanical behavior of biological fibrous materials self-organized due to the adhesion between proto-filaments, and for the development of new functional fibrous materials.