Download CHM 629: Principles of Physical Chemistry

CHM 629: Principles of Physical Chemistry
Instructor: Dr. Madhav Ranaganathan
Office: FB 424
Tel: 6037
Email: [email protected]
Lectures: TThF 0800 FB 434
Office Hours: M W 1500 - 1600 FB 424
Course description: An overview of some of the topics in Physical Chemistry - Atomic
and Molecular Structure, Spectroscopy, Statistical Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry,
Chemical Kinetics, Photochemistry.
Course Details
1. Atomic Structure: Postulates of Quantum Mechanics, Simple problems in
quantum mechanics - Particle in a box, Harmonic Oscillator, 1-D and 3-D Rotors,
Hydrogen Atom, Many electron atoms, approximate methods. (6 lectures)
2. Beyond Atoms - Molecules, Clusters and Solids: Molecular Orbital Theory, Valence Bond theory, Ionic Bonds, Dipole moment, Resonance, Delocalization,aromatic molecules, solids.(5 lectures)
3. Molecular Spectroscopy: Interaction of Radiation with Matter, Vibrational
and Rotational spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, Electronic Spectroscopy, Fluorescence and Phosphorescence.(4-6 lectures)
4. Statistical Thermodynamics: Statistical mechanics of noninteracting systems,
Boltzmann distribution, partition function, Calculation of thermodynamic quantities, Statistical Mechanics of solids, Einstein and Debye models.(6-8 lectures)
5. Electrochemistry :Ionic equilibrium, activity and activity coefficients, DebyeHuckel theory, EMF of chemical cells, Nernst equation, potentiometric titrations,
cyclic voltammetry.(5 lectures)
6. Chemical Kinetics Rates and Mechanisms of complex reactions, temperature
dependence of reaction rates, collision theory, experimental methods, molecular
reaction dynamics experiments.(6 lectures)
7. Photochemistry Photochemical processes, laws of photochemical processes, quantum yield, radiative and nonradiative processes, applications.(4 lectures)
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Books:
There is no prescribed book for this course. I prefer to make my notes after reading
different books. There are many excellent books in Physical Chemistry and you will be
well-served by reading one or more of them.
1. P.W. Atkins and Julio de Paula Physical Chemistry
2. I.N. Levine Physical Chemistry
3. Silbey, Alberty, and Bawendi Physical Chemistry
4. D.A. McQuarrie and J.D. Simon Physical Chemistry: A Molecular Approach
5. R.S. Berry, S.A. Rice and John Ross Physical Chemistry
Internet Resources: There are many online resources, but there is no guarantee that
they provide the correct information.
1. http://ocw.mit.edu/: This is the MIT open course ware. There are many courses
in Physical Chemistry covering different topics.
2. http://www.wolfram.com/mathematica : This is the homepage of the software
and programming language Mathematica. It has many good mathematical tips
too.
3. http:/www.mathworks.com/MATLAB: Another mathematical software and an
associated programming language.
Grading System
1. Homework Assignments: (25 marks total) : These will consist of 5 assignments.
You have one week to complete the assignments. You are encouraged to speak
to each other and work together on assignments, but each person has to submit
their own assignments. You may also be asked to explain your solutions in person
to me. Late assignments will be penalized at the rate of 20% per day.
2. Mid Semester 1 : (10 marks): This will be an in-class exam lasting 1 hour. The
exam is open notes/books.
3. Mid Semester 2 : (10 marks): This will be a week long take-home exam. You
have to attempt this on your own, without help from anyone else.
4. Project/Term Paper: (25 marks): For this you be given some topic of current
interest in physical chemistry and you will have to make a presentation and give
a report for the same. Your project titles will be given to you before the first
midterm exam and your final report will be due the week before the final exam.
5. Final Exam : (30 marks): This will be an in-class exam lasting 3 hours. The
exam is open notes/books.
Letter Grades: Letter grades will be awarded based on the total marks out of 100.
Since there are very few students in the class, the grade will be awarded based on
marks. The passing marks for this course will not be greater than 40; though they may
be lower.
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