Chemistry - MChem

Chemistry, as one of the physical sciences, is rooted in careful observation of the natural world and experimentation. This module builds upon the key skills developed in the previous year, teaching new synthetic and analytical techniques, coupled with work using computational methods and analytical software to provide a deeper understanding of lecture material and how it may be applied more generally, and learning how to apply the theories and ideas from lecture modules to socially and industrially relevant problems.

This module will deepen your understanding of quantum mechanics and symmetry. We explore how this gives rise to quantisation and selection rules, and go on to apply this to spectroscopic methods to understand structure and bonding including: rotational (microwave) spectroscopy, vibrational (IR and Raman) spectroscopy and electronic transitions (UV-vis).

Underpinning both modern industrial catalysis and many biological systems, the chemistry of metal-carbon bonds is both incredibly important and diverse. This module delves into the factors controlling structure, bonding, and reactivity in organometallic species across the periodic table. It teaches how the properties of organometallic systems can be understood, controlled, and applied to solve important problems in the modern world.

This course will introduce students to the key ideas and fundamental molecular components of biochemistry. The course will cover simple biomolecules and non-covalent interactions, building up to biological oligomers. This will lead to introductory pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, illustrated with medicinal chemistry case studies.

This module builds upon the key skills developed in previous laboratory modules, working towards longer and open-ended experiments designed to prepare students for research projects in stage 3.

In this module, you will study organic reactions and compounds encountered in organic chemistry in depth. In particular, you will look at the organic chemical reaction mechanisms (including aspects of physical organic chemistry) and the reactions of a variety of organic compounds. You will also look at strategies for synthesising target molecules. Topics may include carbon-carbon bond formation, aromatic chemistry, the kinetics of organic chemistry, and carbonyl chemistry.

Analytical chemistry underpins all other aspects of the discipline, and covers not only how to find out what a thing is but how to design experiments and confirm results to quantify just how confident you can be that your answer is useful. This module takes a pragmatic, applications driven approach to sample preparation, analysis, and data validation.

The functional properties of solids, which are widely used for their ability to conduct electricity and ions, is determined by their structure on the atomic scale. An understanding of this is vital to the development of new materials, including those required to enable the clean energy technologies of tomorrow. This module will provide you with an understanding of the structures of solids and how they’re determined. We will also explore the properties of materials, including electronic and ionic conductivity, and the role solids play in energy-related technologies.

This module will provide students with the skills necessary to propose, develop, perform and report on a project. The emphasis on of this module will focus on not only academic projects but also on industrial requirements.

This module introduces key concepts and practises of supramolecular and polymer chemistry. It will focus on linking past modules to supramolecular chemistry and outline important concepts and examples of supramolecular chemistry. This will include non-covalent interactions, self-association and self-assembly with an overall emphasis on soft matter and solution-based supramolecular concepts. This module will also give an overview of fundamental concepts in polymer chemistry (synthesis, characterisation and properties) leading to a more specialised introduction to block copolymers, self-assembly and supramolecular polymer chemistry that will build upon previous course material.

In this module, you will study chirality; the ‘handedness’ of chemistry and how we can manipulate chemical bonds to produce enantiomerically pure molecules for the pharmaceutical and life sciences. You will also understand the formation of key medicinally relevant heterocyclic systems, and learn to logically plan a complex chemical synthesis. Topics include cycloaddition chemistry, heterocycle synthesis, asymmetric synthesis, retrosynthesis and radical chemistry.

Analytical chemistry underpins all other aspects of the discipline. This module discusses modern methods in data analysis and processing, Cheminformatics and “Big Data”, and describes advanced analytical methods used for analysing complex systems.

In this module students will undertake individual research projects. You will gain skills in conducting and directing scientific research, data analysis and interpretation, problem solving and communication of results, culminating in the writing of your dissertation.

Computational modelling and simulations are increasingly used in the natural sciences to complement experimental work and can be used to provide unique insight, especially when experiments are expensive, dangerous or prohibited. Here, we will introduce students to modelling and simulation approaches that a chemistry practitioner is likely to encounter in their career. Possible topics may include mesoscale modelling, classical mechanics, quantum mechanics and machine learning.

The electronic structure and bonding of inorganic systems is directly responsible for their physical properties and reactivity, and leads to the diverse spectroscopic and magnetic properties observed and exploited in the modern world, as well as dictating their stability. This module looks at the factors controlling these properties in small molecules and clusters, how they may be measured, and builds a fundamental understanding off these systems with a focus on understanding and solving a range of contemporary problems.

This module will introduce you to methods for preparing and characterising solids such as crystalline, nano- and amorphous materials. The module will also explore properties such as magnetism, dielectric and electronic behaviours which depend on the symmetry and structure of condensed matter phases.

In this module students will conduct an advanced individual project within a research laboratory. Students will gain experience of a wide range of research skills including data interpretation and analysis.

This module will provide students with enhanced research skills such as thinking critically, learning to be unbiased and providing fair evaluation. The content of this module will also embed employability skills. Case studies will provide context for the academia/practitioner divide and the interplay between research and application over time.

Topic A:The properties of species containing transition metals and lanthanides are governed by the electronic structure of these metals and ions and a more in-depth understanding of their electronic states is necessary to explore these properties and current research trends. This course will include looking at the energy scales of ss, ll and sl coupling and the Russell-Saunders coupling scheme and when various coupling schemes are valid, and Hund’s rules for transition metals and lanthanides. This will lead into the use of term symbols to discuss electron configurations and microstates. This initial theory will provide a basis on which we can investigate ligand field theory and electronic spectra for transition metals (considering concepts such as Racah parameters and the nephelauxetic effect, and using Orgel, Tanabe-Sugano and correlation diagrams) and then lanthanides. The consequences of these concepts for physical properties (for example, magnetism and when to expect an orbital contribution to spin) will be explored. Current research ideas will also be incorporated (for example, spin-crossover systems). Topic B: Nanoscale phenomena are increasingly important in cutting edge materials science. Understanding colloids and interfaces is integral to entry into this field. Students will learn the physical chemistry of these systems, starting from classifications, and move forward to understanding the thermodynamics and kinetics through application of principles of structural chemistry. Characterisation and up-to-date applications of colloidal systems will be delivered.

The ability to examine a molecule through the lens of retrosynthetic analysis, and subsequent delineation of a feasible series of reactions to generate the target molecule, is an essential tool in all areas of Synthetic Chemistry. The topic finds its fullest expression in the total synthesis of complex molecules such as natural products. Students will make use of the full repertoire of reactions they have compiled to date, but new reactions may also be delivered.