A Multifunctional Gold Nanoparticle/Polyelectrolyte Fibrous Nanocomposite Prepared from Electrospinning Process

Gold nanoparticles are introduced to a fibrous nanocomposite material prepared from electrospinning a polyelectrolyte solution of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH). The functional groups in the fiber allow convenient thermal crosslinking of the fibers and the binding of tetrachloroaurate ions. Gold nanoparticle-modified nanofibers can be further treated by silver enhancement that increased the electrical conductivity of the nanofibers to 10^–2 S/cm. The FT-IR analysis of the nanocomposite fibers shows that the deposition of gold nanoparticles significantly enhances the IR absorption intensity of the polymer fibers, offering a potential sensing capability through enhanced FT-IR absorption of molecules. Upon laser irradiation, the photothemal effect generated by gold nanoparticles caused deformation, melting, or local decomposition of the nanofibers which allows the patterning of nanofibers. The multifunctional composite nanofibers may find many important potential applications in sensors, optical and electronic devices, tissue engineering and catalysis.