Patent ID: 8309479

Claim:
Metal-coated polymer nano-fibers prepared by a process comprising the steps of: a) electro-spinning a polymer solution at ambient conditions to form polymer nano-fibers with functional groups comprising epoxy rings on a surface of the polymer nano-fibers and epoxy rings in a structure of the polymer nano-fibers that allow for binding by a reducing reagent; b) contacting the electrospun polymer nano-fibers obtained in step a) with a reducing agent, thereby opening the epoxy rings on the surface of the polymer nano-fibers and allowing the reducing agent to bond to the surface of the polymer nano-fibers; c) reacting the reducing agent modified polymer nano-fibers obtained in step b) with a metal salt solution in alkaline media and obtaining an electro-spun mat of metal-coated polymer nano-fibers; and d) treating the electrospun mat obtained in step c) with water to open the epoxy rings in the structure to obtain cross-linking in the polymer nano-fibers.