Grafting of plasma activated polyethyleneterephthalate with gold nanorods

Two different procedures of grafting of polyethyleneterephthalate, modified by plasma discharge, with gold nanorods are studied. In the first procedure polymer foil was grafted with biphenyl-4,4′-dithiol and subsequently with gold nanorods. In the second procedure the polymer was grafted with gold nanorods previously covered by dithiol. The second procedure was found to be more effective. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Electrokinetic analysis were used for characterization of the polymer surface at different modification steps. Gold nanorods were characterized by Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy. It was proved that the dithiol was chemically bonded on the surface of the plasma activated polymer and it mediates subsequent grafting of the gold nanorods.

► Coating of polymers with the gold nanorods (AuNR) was prepared by two procedures.
► Grafted gold nanorods were characterized by several methods, i.e. XPS, FTIR, UV–Vis, zeta potential.
► The studied structures may have potential application in electronics or tissue engineering.