Electrically-conductive silver metal can be provided in a thin film or pattern on a substrate from a silver complex having reducing silver ions and represented by:

(Ag.sup.+).sub.a(L).sub.b(P).sub.c (I)

wherein L represents an -oxy carboxylate; P represents a 5- or 6-membered N-heteroaromatic compound; a is 1 or 2; b is 1 or 2; and c is 1, 2, 3, or 4, provided that when a is 1, b is 1, and when a is 2, b is 2. The silver complex is mixed in a hydroxy-free, nitrile-containing aprotic solvent with a polymer that is either (i) a hydroxy-containing cellulosic polymer or (ii) a non-cellulosic acrylic polymer having a halo- or hydroxy-containing side chain. The reducible silver ions in the a thermally sensitive thin film or pattern can be thermally converted to electrically-conductive metallic silver under suitable heating conditions to provide a product article that can be used in various devices.

Electrically-conductive silver metal can be provided in a thin film or pattern on a substrate from a silver complex having reducing silver ions and represented by:

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wherein L represents an -oxy carboxylate; P represents a primary alkylamine compound; a is 1 or 2; b is 1 or 2; and c is 1, 2, 3, or 4, provided that when a is 1, b is 1, and when a is 2, b is 2. The silver complex is mixed in a hydroxy-free, nitrile-containing aprotic solvent with a polymer that is either (i) a hydroxy-containing cellulosic polymer or (ii) a non-cellulosic acrylic polymer having a halo- or hydroxy-containing side chain. The reducible silver ions in the a thermally sensitive thin film or pattern can be thermally converted to electrically-conductive metallic silver under suitable heating conditions to provide a product article that can be used in various devices.

Articles can be prepared having silver layers or patterns using a non-aqueous silver precursor composition consisting essentially of: at least 1 weight % of one or more (a) cellulosic polymers, (b) at least 0.1 weight % of reducible silver ions, and (c) an organic solvent medium consisting of: (i) one or more hydroxylic organic solvents, and, optionally, (ii) a nitrile-containing or carbonate-containing aprotic solvent. This composition is subjected to a temperature of at least 20 C. for a time sufficient to convert at least 90 mol % of the (b) reducible silver ions to (d) silver nanoparticles having a mean particle size of at least 25 nm and up to and including 750 nm. Additional (ii) nitrile-containing or carbonate-containing aprotic solvent can be added, and (e) carbon black can be added sufficient to provide at least 5 weight % carbon black. The resulting silver nanoparticle-containing composition can be disposed onto a supporting surface of a substrate to form a silver nanoparticle-containing pattern, and any organic solvents can be removed. This pattern can also be electrolessly plated to form an electrically-conductive pattern.

A non-aqueous silver precursor composition contains at least 1 weight % of one or more (a) polymers that are certain cellulosic polymers; (b) reducible silver ions; and(c) an organic solvent medium consisting of: (i) a hydroxylic organic solvent having an -hydrogen atom and a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 100-500 C., and, optionally, (ii) a nitrile-containing aprotic solvent or a carbonate-containing aprotic solvent different from the (i) organic solvent, each having a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 100-500 C. The (b) reducible silver ions are present in an amount of 0.1-400 weight %, based on the total weight of the one or more (a) polymers. This composition can be used to form silver nanoparticles under silver ion reducing conditions and then applied to various substrates to provide silver nanoparticle patterns.

An article has a substrate and a pattern of a dry silver nanoparticle-containing composition comprising at least 20 weight % of one or more (a) polymers, that are cellulosic polymers; (d) silver nanoparticles having a mean particle size of 25-750 nm and present in an amount of 0.1-400 weight %, based on the total weight of the one or more (a) polymers; and (e) carbon black in an amount of 5-50 weight %, based on the total weight of the one or more (a) polymers. Such patterns can have multiple fine lines of any geometric arrangement. The article can have multiple patterns of this type, and each pattern can be electrolessly plated with a suitable metal such as copper to provide electrically-conductive product articles.

A polymer brush includes a substrate material, a polymerization initiator layer containing a hydrolysis and condensation polymerization polymer comprising a first organosilane and a metal alkoxide on a surface of said substrate material, and polymer chains extending from a surface of the polymerization initiator layer. The first organosilane is a polymerization initiator group-containing organosilane having the following formula (I): XR.sup.1-Ph-(R.sup.2).sub.mSiR.sup.3.sub.nR.sup.4.sub.3-n . . . (I) where X stands for a halogen atom, R.sup.1 stands for an alkylene group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, Ph stands for a phenylene group, R.sup.2 stands for a C1 to C10 alkylene group optionally via an oxygen atom, R.sup.3 stands for an alkoxy group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms or chloro group, R.sup.4 stands for an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, m is 0 or 1, n is 1, 2 or 3.

Systems and methods that entail polymeric fibers produced via an electrospinning process, and metallic nanostructures adhered to surfaces of the polymeric fibers via an electroless deposition process. Suitable materials for the polymeric fibers and metallic nanostructures include polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers and copper nanostructures, respectively.

A method of preparing an ionomer of an ion exchange membrane with a recombination catalyst to prevent gas crossover of species, such as hydrogen and/or oxygen, to anodic and cathodic cell compartments of an electrochemical cell. An ionomer of an ion exchange membrane is prepared with a recombination catalyst. The ionomer is a proton or anion exchange polymer and the recombination catalyst, selected from the precious metals group, is provided in ionic form in a liquid metal salt solution. The ion exchange membrane is immersed into the liquid metal salt solution to exchange ionic ionomer ports with the ionic form of the recombination catalyst. The membrane is then assembled in the electrochemical cell and the ionic form of the recombination catalyst is at least partly reduced to metallic form by forcing hydrogen to permeate through the ionomer of the ion exchange membrane.