Physico‐Chemical Studies on Cu(II) Complexes of Acrylate Chelating Polymers

Abstract

Metal chelating polymers containing amide and carboxylic groups were prepared by gamma‐radiation polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) monomers in the presence of polyacrylamide (PAM). The resins obtained were loaded by copper ions and characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy, electron spin resonance (ESR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetery (DSC). The IR spectra indicated a lower frequencies shift in the carbonyl bands due to copper ion chelation with carbonyl groups in the polymer resins. Also, the IR spectra reveal a splitting in the band at 3600–3200 cm⁻¹ that due to the coordination of the NH and OH groups with copper ions. The ESR spectrum was anisotropic with hyperfine structure having the following values 2.3808 and 2.07218 for g _∥ and g _⊥, respectively. These spectra for copper ions have square planar coordination with two nitrogen and two oxygen atoms. TGA and DSC studies show that radiation crosslinking and complexation with copper ion increase the thermal stability of PAM–AA resins. Meanwhile, resin complexes with copper ion showed a higher thermal stability than pure resin. The increase in thermal stability may be correlated with the metal ions coordination with NH and OH groups; this coordination prevents the splitting of ammonia and water molecules. Also, the metal ions providing a coordination crosslink between polymer chains could increase thermal stability.

Keywords:

• Gamma irradiation
• Chelating polymers
• FT‐IR
• ESR
• Thermal properties