Department of Chemistry, Unit Catalogue 2011/12 |
|
 Credits:
| 12 |
| Level:
| Intermediate (FHEQ level 5) |
| Period: |
Academic Year |
| Assessment:
| EX 80%, MC 20% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | CH20151 - Reassessment Examination (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| Before taking this unit you must take CH10137 and while taking this unit you must take CH20147 and take CH20149 and in taking this unit you cannot take CH20152 |
| Description:
| Aims: To introduce and expand on advanced physical chemistry methods in kinetics, spectroscopy, surfaces and quantum mechanics. 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. * Describe and define the types of adsorption at solid surfaces * Explain the qualitative and quantitative basis of catalysis and physical adsorption * Define surface tension and solve simple problems involving its application * Define and interpret the forces between two colloids * Define the terms 'wavefunction' and 'eigenvalue'. * Relate physical models to quantisation of molecular and electronic energies. * Use quantum mechanical methods to generate and rationalise the structure and bonding in organic molecules. 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 Introduction to surfaces. chemisorption versus physisorption. adsorbed amounts. Types of isotherms: Langmuir Isotherm. determination of heat of adsorption,BET isotherm: Introduction to heterogeneous catalysis. Kinetics of catalysis. Langmuir Hinshelwood mechanism. Eley Rideal mechanism. Catalysis examples Molecular basis and consequences of surface tension. Colloid stability. Micellisation. Gibbs equation Basic principles of quantum mechanics; wavefunctions, eigenvalues and operators. Solving the Schrödinger equation and the calculation of energy levels. Development of the variation method applied to diatomic molecules and hydrocarbons. Calculation of electronic and bonding energies. The relationship between molecular orbitals, electron density and reactivity. |
| Programme availability: |
CH20151 is Compulsory on the following programmes:Department of Chemistry
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