US Patent 11764382 Polymeric electrolyte nanofiber membrane

A polymeric electrolyte nanofiber membrane can include polymeric electrolyte nanofibers (PENF) from three polymeric nanofiber materials, namely polypyrrole (PPy), cellulose derivatives (CD) and polystyrene (PS). Each of the nanofibers include aligned metal nanowires (MNW). The metal nanowires (MNWs) can include a metal selected from at least one of copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn). The PENFs can be formed using electrospinning. The MNWs can be formed using hydrothermal methods. The PPy nanofiber mats can have a uniform thickness ranging from about 10 μm to about 20 μm. The ZnO nanowires can have a hexagonal structure with diameters ranging from about 60 nm to 100 nm and lengths varying from about 1 μm to about 3 μm.