Studies on the structural transitions and self-organization behavior of polyacrylic acids with complementary polymers in aqueous solution by laser flash photolysis method using the triplet state of covalently bound phenosafranine

Abstract The conformational transition of polyacrylic acids and the formation of interpolymer complexes with synthetic polymers in aqueous solution are investigated using the triplet state of the cationic dye phenosafranine covalently attached to the polymer chain. Laser excitation of the phenosafranine dye covalently bound to polymethacrylic acid at 532 nm shows that the absorption spectrum of the triplet state shifts to red region by 40 nm as compared to that of the free dye in aqueous solution and the triplet state lifetime is enhanced by 20-fold. Laser flash excitation shows that the environment of the triplet state of the dye bound to the polyelectrolyte at pH ⩽5.5 in aqueous solution is more rigid and less polar resulting in a highly compact globular nature of the polymer. The decay of the triplet state of the dye bound to the polymer is attributed to the quenching of the excited state by the carboxylate groups of polyacrylic acids and to the decay process of the triplet in the tightly coiled polymer environment in the pH range 2.0–5.0. The spectra of the triplet dye molecules bound to the polymer at different degree of ionization of the polyelectrolyte suggest that the structural transition from compact globular structure to stretched rod like structure is cooperative involving a series of structural transitions. The observation of diprotonated triplet state of the PMAA bound dye at higher pH (i.e. pH ∼7.0) reveals the existence of an intermediate structure akin to a micellar segment in PMAA prior to the formation of elongated linear chain. The self-organization of PMAA adduct formation with complementary macromolecules, PVP, PEO and PVA primarily due to hydrogen bonding makes the environment of the dye in the adduct more compact and rigid; in particular poly(vinylpyrrolidone), PVP, has the tendency to form more compact interpolymer complex at pH 4.5 than poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA, and poly(ethylene oxide), PEO as revealed from the laser flash photolysis studies of the polymer bound dye using triplet state of the phenosafranine as the marker.