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CHEM4481: ADVANCED RESEARCH CONCEPTS IN CHEMISTRY

Please ensure you check the module availability box for each module outline, as not all modules will run in each academic year. Each module description relates to the year indicated in the module availability box, and this may change from year to year, due to, for example: changing staff expertise, disciplinary developments, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback. Current modules are subject to change in light of the ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.

Type Open
Level 4
Credits 20
Availability Available in 2024/2025
Module Cap None.
Location Durham
Department Chemistry

Prerequisites

  • Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) OR Chemical Physics 3 (CHEM3411) AND two from [Inorganic Concepts and Applications (CHEM3097), Molecules and their Interactions (CHEM3137), Computational Chemical Physics (CHEM3151)].

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • Chemistry and Society (CHEM3061).

Aims

  • To build on material taught at level 3 and provide students with an advanced overview of more specialised areas at the interface of chemistry and chemical physics.

Content

  • A collection of 6 research focused courses spanning topics at the forefront of chemistry. Each student will follow 5 out of 6 lecture courses.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • Appreciate the role of solid-state NMR spectroscopy in the characterisation of solids and the information that can be extracted/obtained.
  • Identify and explain the main interactions in solid-state NMR and their effect on NMR spectra.
  • Understand the process of developing a successful "hit" from drug discovery into a final product.
  • Understand the importance of solid-state forms and their characterisation for drug pharmacokinetics and patenting.
  • Explain how energy flows between degrees of freedom of a molecule.
  • Understand the role of spectroscopy in determining structure, excited state properties and dynamics.
  • Understand the relationship between polymer structure, dynamics and material properties.
  • Understand how interactions between polymers affect their phase behaviour in blends.
  • 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.
  • Calculate and explain how reaction exothermicity is proportioned amongst the internal states of reaction products.
  • Describe the role played by zeolites in industrial systems.

Subject-specific Skills:

Key Skills:

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

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures361 Hour36 
Workshops61 Hour6Yes
Preparation and Reading158 
Total200 

Summative Assessment

Component: ExaminationComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Two-hour open book examination2 hours100 

Formative Assessment

Workshop problems.

More information

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