Synthesis and characterization of poly(3-acetyl-4-hydroxyphenyl acrylate) and its Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes

3-Acetyl-4-hydroxyphenyl acrylate (AHPA) was synthesized by treating acryloyl chloride with 2,5-dihydroxy acetophenone in the presence of triethylamine at 0 °C. AHPA was polymerized in ethyl methyl ketone (EMK) at 70 °C by free radical polymerization under nitrogen atmosphere using benzoyl peroxide as initiator. The monomer and the polymer were characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The polymer–metal complexes were obtained by the reaction of chloroform solution of poly(AHPA) with aqueous solution of Cu(II)/Ni(II) acetates. The polymer–metal complexes were characterized by FT-IR and the results revealed that the ligands are coordinated through the oxygen of the keto group and oxygen of the phenolic –OH group to the metal ions. The electronic spectra and magnetic moment of polymer–metal complexes showed an distorted octahedral and square planar structure for poly(AHPA)–Ni(II) and poly(AHPA)–Cu(II) complexes respectively. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed that while the polymer was amorphous the polymer–metal complexes were crystalline. The thermal stability and glass transition temperature of the polymer–metal complexes were found to be higher than that of the polymer.