Department of Chemistry, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
CH20153 Physical principles: kinetics and photochemistry |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Intermediate |
| Semester: 1 |
| Assessment: EX 100% |
| Requisites: |
| Before taking this unit you must take CH10137 or take CH10138 and in taking this unit you cannot take CH20151 or take CH20152 |
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Aims: To introduce and expand on advanced physical chemistry methods in kinetics, and spectroscopy.
Learning Outcomes: After studying this Unit, students should be able to: * Describe some experimental methods for investigating reaction rate and mechanism and how kinetic parameters may be calculated. * Account in kinetic terms for the mechanism of a range of reactions. * Analyse kinetic data in terms of a number of theoretical models * Describe methods for measuring rates of fast reactions * Describe the effect of light on some chemical reactions and account for the rates of photochemical processes. * Understand how lasers work, and their applications * Describe the fundamental processes that lead to absorption, emission and scattering of electromagnetic radiation from molecular species, and interpret IR and Raman spectra. Skills: Numeracy (F, A); Problem solving (T, F, A); Independent working (F). Content: Revision of basics of reaction kinetics - order, molecularity, temperature effects. Kinetic treatment of more complex mechanisms such as chain and oscillating reactions, enzyme kinetics. Theoretical treatments of reaction kinetics and examples of their application. e.g. collision theory, transition state theory. Reactions in solution. Diffusion and activation control, the "cage" effect. Experimental methods for studying reactions: Basic photochemical methods and processes. Applications of photochemistry. Kinetics of photochemical reactions. The physical basis of spectroscopy, developing from the basic quantum mechanics of simple molecules to the interpretation of spectra of complex molecules. |