MChem Chemistry with International Study / Course details

This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 21/22 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact.  

Molecular spectroscopy, chromatography and mass spectrometry are fundamental to chemical analysis and are important tools in all areas of chemistry. In this module, further principles and applications of some of the most common techniques will be presented, building upon ideas and concepts developed in the first year. The primary objective of the module is to present an integrated, coherent discussion of chemical identification using chromatography and a combination of spectra, as practiced in modern synthetic and analytical chemistry laboratories.

At the end of this module, students should be able to:

1) Explain the principles of operation of NMR and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and

    chromatography, and describe the chemical information that can be provided by each method;

2) Describe and explain the ways in which NMR and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and

    chromatography are used by practical chemists for quantitative and qualitative analysis;

3) Apply knowledge of each of the methods to unseen examples, both as isolated techniques

    and in conjunction, to determine elements of chemical composition;

4) Apply knowledge of each of the methods to devise a suitable analytical strategy for unseen

    examples, by selecting appropriate methods for quantitative and qualitative chemical analysis.

For each analytical method, students should know / be able to:

NMR

ILO1   The fundamental principles of NMR spectroscopy, including the quantization of angular momentum, the chemical shift, scalar coupling

ILO2   The features of NMR spectra of I = ½ and of I > ½ nuclei

ILO3   The relationship between NMR parameters (shift, coupling, relaxation times) and the appearance of 1D and 2D NMR spectra

ILO4   The influence of isotopic abundance, and of intramolecular and intermolecular dynamic processes, on the appearance of NMR spectra

ILO5   The dynamics of the nuclear magnetism, and the instrumentation used, in pulse Fourier transform experiments

ILO6   The mechanism of the inversion recovery and spin echo experiments, and their use to determine spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times respectively

ILO7   The use of multiple pulse sequences, including DEPT and NOE difference, to enhance the chemical information content of NMR spectra

ILO8   The mechanisms underlying, and the analysis of the results of, two-dimensional NMR experiments such as COSY, TOCSY, HMQC and HMBC

ILO9   Interpret simple pure-compound 1D NMR spectra of a variety of nuclei (both I = ½ and      I >½)

ILO10 Interpret simple pure-compound 2D NMR spectra of a variety of nuclei

ILO11 Interpret given sets of multispectral data (1D and 2D NMR) in a systematic fashion to determine molecular identity, internal structure, and dynamic processes

Vibrational Spectroscopy

ILO12 The physicochemical basis of IR spectroscopy and Raman scattering and their use as spectroscopic tools

ILO13 Interpret simple pure-compound infrared and Raman spectra on the basis of group modes and fingerprint spectra, and correlate these with other spectroscopic data

Chromatography and Separations

ILO14 The physicochemical processes employed in chromatography, i.e. adsorption, desorption, the van Deemter A,B and C terms, sample injection, gas flow, liquid flow and eluate detection

ILO15 The nature of chromatographic columns, including normal and reverse phases, and outline procedures for choosing columns and solvent systems

ILO16 Identify the main components of commercial GC and HPLC instrumentation, and describe the coupling of mass spectrometric detection to GC and LC methods.

Mass spectrometry:

ILO18 The physicochemical processes employed in mass spectrometry. Interpret simple mass spectra (parent ions, major framents, isotopic distributions)

ILO19 Emply accurate (high-resolution) mass measurements to determine molecular formula.

Integrated analytical chemistry:

ILO20 Perform an analysis of information given (e.g. molecular formula, double bond equivalents.