Module CHEM3021: INORGANIC CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS

Department: CHEMISTRY

CHEM3021: INORGANIC CONCEPTS AND APPLICATIONS

Prerequisites

• Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012) AND Chemistry of the Elements (CHEM2021).

Corequisites

• Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To apply chemical principles in the discipline of inorganic chemistry and to study detailed aspects of chemistry in several areas of current interest.

Content

• Lanthanide and actinide elements: reactivity, spectra and magnetic properties.
• Spectroscopic characterisation of inorganic systems: applications of multinuclear NMR and other methods.
• Organometallic reaction chemistry: nucleophilic and electrophilic addition, substitution and abstraction.
• Catalysis at metal centres.

Learning Outcomes

• Compare and contrast the chemistry of the compounds of the lanthanide and actinide elements.
• Solve structural problems of inorganic systems using spectroscopic techniques.
• Rationalise the reactions of organometallic compounds and their application to organic synthesis.
• Discuss the significance, industrial or otherwise, of catalysis at a variety of metal centres.

• Perform and discuss advanced laboratory experiments.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are used to convey concepts and are examined by written papers. This is the best method to assess the knowledge of the students.
• Workshops are larger groups of students where problems are considered and common difficulties shared. This ensures that students have understood the work and can apply it to real life situations. These are formatively assessed.
• Laboratory classes teach students techniques in various aspects of inorganic chemistry. They are continuously assessed so that the student can learn from one session to the next.
• The collection held in January is for students to assess their own learning and performance to improve their examination technique. It is an opportunity for them to assimilate the work completed in the first term. Papers are returned to students with model answers so that they can learn from the experience.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Collection (1 hour written exam in week 11). Set work for review lectures.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University