Fourier transform IR spectroscopic study on phase transitions of copolymers of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropylacrylamide and alkyl acrylates in water

Copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (IPA) and alkyl acrylates methyl acrylate (MA), ethyl acrylate, and butyl acrylate] or vinyl acetate have been prepared and their phase transitions in water have been observed by means of IR spectroscopy. The incorporation of these alkyl acrylates into a poly(IPA) (PIPA) chain induces a decrease in the phase-transition temperatures, T_p, and the magnitude increases with increasing size of the alkyl chains. The profiles of the C=O stretching absorption bands of the ester groups 9(C=O)_ester] and the IR bands due to IPA units exhibit critical changes at the T_p of these copolymers. The 9(C=O)_ester bands shift slightly toward higher wavenumbers (blueshift) upon phase transition, while the amide I and amide II bands of the IPA units undergo a blueshift and a redshift, respectively. Analysis of the 9(C=O)_ester band of PIPA-MA by using a curve-fitting method shows that it consists of three components, at 1,703, 1,720, and 1,738 cm^-1. The relative peak area of the largest component (1,720 cm^-1) is almost constant, and those of the 1,703-cm^-1 and 1,738-cm^-1 components increase and decrease with increasing temperature during the phase transition, respectively. However, the changes are rather small, suggesting that changes in hydrogen bonding of the C=O groups of MA units upon phase transition are not significant. The 9(C=O)_ester bands of other comonomers examined here also exhibit similar changes. The situation is consistent with the change in the hydration states of the amide groups of IPA units, most of which associate with water molecules through hydrogen bonds even after the phase separation.