Binary and Ternary Copper(II) Complexes with NIPAAm/IA Copolymers and Aminoacids: Interpretation of UV‐Visible Spectra and Cyclic Voltammograms

The complex formations of homopolymers and copolymers of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm), polyacrylamide (PAAm) and poly(itaconic acid) (PIA) with Cu(II) ions in aqueous solutions were studied by using UV‐visible spectra in the region of 200–1100 nm and cyclic voltammograms between −0.800 V and 0.600 V. According to the optical and electrochemical spectra of the polymer‐ and copolymer‐Cu(II) complexes and their ternary complexes with alanine, i.e., absorptions and the shifts in the wavelength of the maximum absorptions, currents and potentials of the peaks in the pH range of 3–12, the intensities of anodic and cathodic peak currents of polymers containing IA groups decrease with increasing pH and they show maximum absorptions at lower wavelengths than do the homopolymers used in this work. The peak point of the visible band shifts from 800 to 650 nm, with increasing pH, while the intensity of the third anodic peak observed after pH=4 increases in the case of both Ala‐Cu(II) and its ternary solution with P(NIPAAm‐co‐IA, 9.8 mol%). Both the pH‐dependent shifts of maximum absorptions and the appearence of the third anodic peaks as the pH raised were interpreted as a presence of tetracoordinated Cu(II) complexes in the solution and on the electrode surface, involving combined carboxyl, amide and amine interaction.

Keywords:

• poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide)
• poly(itaconic acid)
• polymer‐copper(II) complexes
• ternary complexes
• cyclic voltammetry
• UV‐visible spectroscopy