Module CHEM4321: CONTEMPORARY CHEMISTRY

Department: Chemistry

CHEM4321: CONTEMPORARY CHEMISTRY

Prerequisites

• Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) AND two from CHEM3021, CHEM3031 and CHEM3041.

Corequisites

• Core Chemistry 4 (CHEM4311).

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Bioactive Chemistry 4 (CHEM4211) OR Chemical Physics 4 (CHEM4411) OR Chemistry and Society (CHEM3061).

Aims

• To demonstrate the unified nature of chemistry by using modern applications that incorporate aspects of all branches of the subject.

Content

• Functional materials*: oxides; superconductors; magnetically ordered materials; materials for power supply and applications; molecular electronics and display technology.
• Medicinal chemistry*: drug classifications; molecular targets for drug action; pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; strategies for drug discovery and development; computational chemistry.
• Macromolecular chemistry:* configuration; thermodynamics of polymer systems; elasticity; synthesis; blends, blocks and self-assembly in polymer systems; amorphous and semi-crystalline states; kinetics of crystallisation.
• [*Each student will follow two of the three lecture courses.].

Learning Outcomes

• After attending the relevant lecture courses, students should be able to:
• rationalise the conductivity/magnetic properties of materials using simple theoretical methods.
• explain how the properties of materials and their technological application is related to their structural properties.
• classify drugs according to their site and mode of action.
• describe methods by which drugs may be discovered, optimised and formulated.
• use molecular modelling packages to predict the mode of action of certain classes of compounds.
• 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