“…Apparently, XRD methods detected Si in the fiber more effectively at 3% silicon loading level in the fiber. After HF acid treatment, a typical XRD pattern of p-PAN/CNC/Ag nanofibers showed diffraction peaks with 2θ values located at around 38.2°, 44.2°, 64.4°, and 77.4°, which, respectively, corresponded to the (111), (200), (220), and (311) crystallographic planes of the face-centered cubic structure of AgNPs [ 3 , 35 ]. This result indicates that additional AgNPs were formed during the HF acid treatment process, which allowed XRD technique to successfully detect them and the results are consistent with the SEM results.…”