UV and Thermally Induced in-situ Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Electrospun Polymer Nanofibers

Gold and Silver nanoparticles were encapsulated in electrospun polymer nanofibers via the solid-state synthetic approach. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers were first fabricated by the electrospinning process from a solution containing PMMA and metal precursors. Co-solvent systems were employed in order to optimize the electrospinning conditions and fiber diameters. Reduction reactions of metal precursors were then conducted by the UV irradiation or the heat treatment directly to the solidified fiber mats. This in-situ synthesis of encapsulated nanoparticles in solid-state minimizes the undesired coagulation from zero-dimensional nanomaterials, while the one-dimensional polymer nanofibers provide the large surface area to expose the unique properties of nanoparticles. Metallic nanoparticles encapsulated in electrospun polymer nanofibers were investigated in SEM, TEM and UV-vis spectroscopy.