Spectroscopic and thermal studies on acrylic acid copolymers In interaction with uranyl cations

Two acid copolymers derived from acrylic acid and itaconic acid i.e., poly(AA-co-IA) (7:2 molar ratio) or from the same acids and a small amount of N-vinylpyrrolidone i.e., poly(AA-co-IA-co-NVP) (7:3:2 molar ratio) were prepared by standard free-radical polymerization in aqueous solutions to be further used in preparation of complexes with uranyl ions. FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and relative viscosity measurements were used to characterize the resulting copolymers (PA-B, PA-T). Their polycomplexes with uranyl acetate, in aqueous solution and solid state (PA-Baq, PA-Taq and PA-Bss, PA-Tss, respectively), were analyzed by pH measurements, luminescence spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy and thermal analyses for the latter ones.