Skip to main content
 

CHEM4311: CORE CHEMISTRY 4

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 2023/24
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Chemistry

Prerequisites

  • Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) AND two from [Inorganic Concepts and Applications (CHEM3097), Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM3117), Molecules and their Interactions (CHEM3137)].

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combinations of Modules

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

Aims

  • This module builds on material taught at level-3 and provides an advanced overview of more specialised areas of chemistry and chemical physics.

Content

  • A - Supramolecular Chemistry
  • B - Green and Sustainable Chemistry
  • C - Zeolites: Synthesis, Characterization and Industrial Applications
  • I - Medicinal Chemistry I - Drug design, discovery and development
  • J - Advanced Polymer Synthesis
  • K - Carbenes in Organocatalysis
  • R - Advanced Molecular Spectroscopy
  • S - Molecular Reaction Dynamics
  • T - Macromolecular Physical Chemistry
  • [*Each student will follow six lecture courses. The choice will depend on modules taken at level-3 and student choice.]

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • After attending the relevant lecture courses, students should be able to:
  • A1 - Understand the role of non-covalent bonding in producing molecular receptors and host-guest systems;
  • B1 - understand and appreciate the rationale behind, and the need for, green and sustainable chemistries, and understand the 12 principles of green Chemistry;
  • B2 - appreciate the necessity for cradle-to-grave life cycle analyses;
  • B3 - access the relative green credentials of chemical processes using a metrics- based approach;
  • B4 - appreciate alternative synthetic methodologies relevant to green Chemistry;
  • C1 - Describe the role played by zeolites in industrial systems
  • I1 - Classify drugs according to their site and mode of action and critically discuss the relationships between structure and activity;
  • I2 - Describe methods by which drugs may be discovered and optimised;
  • J1 - Describe and distinguish between the major synthetic routes to polymer molecules;
  • J2 - Understand the relative merits and limitations of each synthetic route and suggest suitable strategies for the synthesis of key polymer classes;
  • K1 - Identify different classes of carbene organocatalysts and synthetic routes to these catalysts;
  • K2 - Discuss typical mechanisms of reactions enabled by carbenes including acyl anion, Lewis base and azolium enolate catalysis;
  • 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 products;
  • T1 - Understand the relationship between polymer structure, dynamics and material properties;
  • T2 - Understand how interactions between polymers affect their phase behaviour in blends

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 
Workshops6Term 31 Hour6Yes
Preparation and Reading158 
Total200 

Summative Assessment

Component: ExaminationComponent Weighting: 100%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Three-hour open book examination 100 

Formative Assessment

Workshop problems.

More information

If you have a question about Durham's modular degree programmes, please visit our FAQ webpages, Help page or our glossary of terms. If you have a question about modular programmes that is not covered by the FAQ, or a query about the on-line Undergraduate Module Handbook, please contact us.

Prospective Students: If you have a query about a specific module or degree programme, please Ask Us.

Current Students: Please contact your department.