Electrospun nanofiber templated assembly of hybrid nanoparticles

Assembling nanoparticles into or onto a three-dimensional template such as an electrospun nanofiber membrane has attracted considerable attention since this composite material has great potential in many applications. We report here that hybrid noble metal nanoparticles could be readily assembled both into and onto electrospun nanofibers using simple mixing and immersion steps. It is observed that small gold nanospheres were well distributed within the nanofiber, while other nanoparticles such as big gold nanospheres, gold nanorods and palladium nanocubes were uniformly decorated on the surface of the nanofibers. Moreover, the hybrid nanoparticle-assembled nanofiber membrane showed impressive SERS and catalytic performance based on the type of the assembled nanoparticles. It is believed that other nanomaterials could also be assembled with nanofiber membranes using this facile strategy.