Nickel nanoparticle chains inside carbonized polymer nanofibers: preparation by electrospinning and ion-beam irradiationElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr02421k

Novel organic-inorganic composite 1D nanostructures composed of carbonized conductive nanofibers and nickel nanoparticle chains were prepared by the combination of an electrospinning method from metal complex-containing polymer solutions and an ion-beam irradiation technique. The nickel nanoparticle chains were formed by self-assembly inside the carbonized nanofibers, which were characterized by STEM-HAADF observation and XPS spectroscopy. The existence of nickel complexes and the subsequent formation of nickel nanoparticles enhanced the electrical conductivities of carbonized nanofibers to reach above 0.5 S cm −1 for the 6FDA-6FAP nanofibrous membrane containing 5.0 wt% Ni(acac) 2 after ion-beam irradiation at an ion fluence of 1 × 10 16 ions per cm 2 . Novel organic-inorganic composite 1D nanostructures were prepared by the combination of electrospinning and ion-beam irradiation techniques.