Grafting of gold nanoparticles on polyethyleneterephthalate using dithiol interlayer

•Two different techniques were used for coating of PET with gold nanoparticles.•Grafted GNPs were characterized by XPS, FTIR, UV–vis, zeta potential, AFM.•More effective coating is achieved by deposition of GNPs earlier grafted with thiol.•The studied structures may have potential application in electronics or biomedicine.

Two different procedures of grafting of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), modified by plasma treatment, with gold nanoparticles (nanospheres) are studied. In the first procedure the PET foil was grafted with biphenyl-4,4′-dithiol and subsequently with gold nanoparticles. In the second one the PET foil was grafted with gold nanoparticles previously coated by the same dithiol. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrokinetic analysis were used for characterization of the polymer surface at different modification steps. Gold nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The first procedure was found to be more effective. It was proved that the dithiol was chemically bonded to the surface of the plasma activated PET and it mediates subsequent grafting of the gold nanoparticles.