Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Tussar and bivoltine silk fibres are from different silkworm species and possess different physicochemical properties because of the differences in their chemical composition and molecular organization. In this study, a comparative analysis of tussar and bivoltine silk fibres was conducted to study the effect of chemical composition on crystalline structure and surface morphology. The crystallinity and β-sheet structure identification were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the chemical bonding and functional groups were determined by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and the surface morphology was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns of the fibres exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to silk fibroin. Tussar silk showed relatively broader peaks indicating lower crystallinity while bivoltine silk showed sharper and more intense peaks corresponding to higher β-sheet.</p>