Rapid Ag Nanofiber Formation Via Pt Nanoparticle-Assisted H(2)-Free Reduction of Ag(+)-Containing Polymers

One-dimensional Ag nanostructure-based networks have garnered significant attention as next-generation transparent conductive materials. Ag nanofibers (NFs) with high aspect ratios decrease the number density required for percolation; hence, they form qualitatively superior transparent conductive films. This study reports a novel method for rapidly fabricating Ag NFs via Pt nanoparticle-assisted H(2)-free reduction of solid-state AgNO(3). Our results first indicated that polymers can be a source of hydrogen gas in the presence of Pt nanoparticles; Ag NFs with aspect ratios above 10(5) were obtained herein by heating AgNO(3)-containing polymer NFs in a short period of time and in an open-air environment. Our method not only successfully reduced the amount of polymer residue often encountered in spun NFs but also created an effective self-supporting reduction system that does not require an external reducing gas supply. The obtained Ag NF networks were highly conductive and transparent. Moreover, the mechanism of Ag NF formation was investigated. We demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits a high potential for producing high yields of Ag NFs in a simple and rapid manner. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s11671-021-03549-4.