Module CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4

Department: CHEMISTRY

CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4

Prerequisites

• Chemical Physics 3 (CHEM3411), Molecules and their Interactions (CHEM3041), AND Computational Chemistry (CHEM2061).

Corequisites

• Chemistry of Materials (CHEM4451).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Core Chemistry 4 (CHEM4311) AND Contemporary Chemistry (CHEM4321).

Aims

• To build on material taught at level three and provide students with an advanced overview of more specialised areas.

Content

• Photochemistry and fast reactions.
• Reaction dynamics.
• Anisotropic assemblies.
• Functional materials OR Macromolecular chemistry.

Learning Outcomes

• describe and understand the principles of, and methods used, in the measurement of rate constants for fast and ultrafast chemical reactions;
• appreciate the role of lasers in photochemistry;
• explain how differential cross sections are related to rate constants and how they can be measured; deduce the qualitative outcome of a reaction from the key features of the potential energy surface and vice versa;
• After attending the functional materials lecture courses, students should be able to:
• explain the use of order parameters in the context of liquid crystal phases and anisotropic materials and describe differences between orientational and positional distribution functions;
• relate anisotropic properties to the underlying molecular structures;
• rationalise the conductivity / magnetic properties of materials using simple theoretical models;
• explain how the properties of materials and their technological application is related to their structural properties;
• After attending the macromolecular chemistry lecture courses, students should be able to:
• understand the quantitative description of the three dimensional distribution of polymer molecules and use this description to explain retractive forces in elastomers;
• distinguish between major synthetic routes to polymer molecules and describe the characteristic features of each;
• distinguish between amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers and identify molecular features that promote crystallinity.

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

• Facts and new concepts are introduced in the lecture courses.
• Students' knowledge is tested by examination.
• Undergraduates are aided in the learning process by workshops where they attempt sample problems and office hours where staff are available to answer any queries about the lecture courses.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Workshop problems.

■ 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