Module CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4

Department: Chemistry

CHEM4411: CHEMICAL PHYSICS 4

Tied To

• FGC0: Natural Sciences

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

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

Content

• E - Recent developments and applications of solid-state NMR spectroscopy
• R - Advanced Molecular Spectroscopy
• S - Molecular Reaction Dynamics
• T - Macromolecular Physical Chemistry
• U - Medicinal Chemistry II - From hit to pill
• V - Cold and Ultracold Molecules
• W - Advanced Electrochemistry
• [*Each student will follow six lecture courses. The choice will depend on modules taken at level-3 and student choice.]

Learning Outcomes

• After attending the relevant lecture courses, students should be able to:
• E1 - Appreciate the role of solid-state NMR spectroscopy in the characterisation of solids and the information that can be extracted/obtained;
• E2 - Identify and explain the main interactions in solid-state NMR and their effect on NMR spectra;
• R1 - Explain how energy flows between degrees of freedom of a molecule;
• R2 - Understand the role of spectroscopy in determining structure, excited state properties and dynamics;
• S1 - Explain how differential cross sections are related to rate constants and how they can be measured;
• S2 - Deduce the qualitative outcome of a reaction from the key features of the potential energy surface and vice versa;
• S3 - Calculate and explain how reaction exothermicity is proportioned amongst the internal states of reaction product;
• T1 - Understand the relationship between polymer structure, dynamics and material properties;
• T2 - Understand how interactions between polymers affect their phase behaviour in blends;
• U1 - Understand the process of developing a successful "hit" from drug discovery into a final product;
• U2 - Understand the importance of solid-state forms and their characterisation for drug pharmacokinetics and patenting;
• V1 - Understand what is meant by the terms cold and ultracold and how the behaviour of molecules in these regimes of temperature differs from behaviour at higher temperatures;
• V2 - Describe the various experimental techniques employed to produce cold and ultracold molecules and know the current state of the art in experiment and theory;
• V3 - Appreciate the many applications of cold and ultracold molecules to contemporary problems in modern chemistry and physics;
• W1 - Describe fundamentals of electrochemical reactions at a molecular level;
• W2 - Apply knowledge of electrochemical reactions and techniques to problem solving

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 and understanding is tested by examination.
• Undergraduates are aided in the learning process by workshops where they attempt sample problems.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

Workshop problems.