The course is divided into five study units. Each study unit begins with an overview that outlines the main focus of the subject area. Each unit is then divided into a number of sub-topics. Each sub-topic is supplemented with indicated readings as well as online activities. Self- tests are provided at appropriate intervals in order to ensure attainment of sufficient understanding of each sub-topic prior to progressing to the next one. Answers to self-tests are included at the end of each study unit.
Other than the study units, compulsory day schools will be organized to enable face-to-face teaching in selected topics of inorganic chemistry. Practical experience will be gathered through laboratory sessions, allowing you to gain hands-on experience of synthesizing different types of inorganic compounds and performing different kinds of spectroscopic techniques.
Assignments are incorporated into the course as part of continuous assessment. There are five assignments in this course. The four highest marks will be counted towards the continuous assessment. You are required to submit at least four assignments.
Course materials
A brief description of each study unit is given below.
Unit 1 Concepts in transition metal chemistry
For this unit, you need to use the book Concepts in Transition Metal Chemistry provided as part of your course materials.
The behaviour of the transition metals and their aqueous ions is introduced in this unit. The concept of coordination chemistry, such as crystal field theory is introduced. These concepts can explain some of the magnetic and spectral properties of the metal complexes. Finally, molecular orbital theory of transition metal complexes is discussed to give you a thorough picture of transition metal chemistry. In this unit, the transition metal chemistry of metal-containing proteins and complexes of biological importance are highlighted.
Unit 2 Bioinorganic chemistry
For this unit, you need to use the book Metals and Life provided as part of your course materials.
Bioinorganic chemistry is an interdisciplinary subject involving inorganic chemistry and biochemistry. This unit begins by introducing you to the metals essential for life, and the functions that metals fulfil in the physiology of animals. Following the introduction, the unit moves on to consider the methods that organisms employ to acquire metal ions, and how they transport and store them. In addition, metal complexes of biological importance will be introduced, such as metalloproteins and enzymes. Some key biological processes involving metalloproteins, such as respiration and photosynthesis, will be discussed in detail.
Unit 3 Organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry, as its name suggests, is a subfield that bridges organic and inorganic chemistry. By definition, organometallic chemistry involves the study of compounds containing metal-carbon bonds.
Organometallic compounds bear some resemblance to classical inorganic, coordination compounds in terms of structure, bonding and reactivity. At the same time, there are many other properties and fundamental reactions that are unique to organometallic compounds, such as instability under ambient conditions, and ligand-based reactions.
In this unit, we will start with a list of general considerations regarding organometallic chemistry. We follow up the introduction with a survey of common organometallic ligands, synthetic methods and different classes of reactions of organometallic compounds. We will conclude this unit with some very important examples of organometallic application pertaining to the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Unit 4 Solid-state inorganic chemistry
Solid-state chemistry is a rapidly expanding field in chemistry in the last century. As its name suggests, solid-state chemistry involves the study of the structures and characteristics, in particular the physical properties, of solid phase inorganic materials.
Solid-state inorganic chemistry has been strongly driven by technology to meet the needs of products of commerce. The synthesis of novel materials and their characterization may also involve other fields like solid-state physics, mineralogy, crystallography, material science and electronics.
In this unit, we will start with a revision of crystal structure. We then present four of the hottest topics in solid-state material chemistry: zeolite, semiconductors, superconductors and magnetism. We will give you a brief idea of their properties and working principles. We will also look at some applications which impact the world.
Unit 5 Instrumental methods for inorganic chemistry
Instrumental analysis is a key subfield of all main fields of chemistry. During research, new compounds are analysed both in the solid state and in solution in order for chemists to understand their steric and electronic properties, which allow an accurate explanation or prediction of reactivity patterns. Secondly, unknown mixtures are analysed spectroscopically in order for researchers to obtain information on their chemical composition. Finally, spectroscopy allows chemists to identify the authenticity and purity of a compound.
This unit will take you through the details of some of the common spectroscopic techniques that you will inevitably come across during the study of chemistry, namely, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), mass spectrometry (MS) and X-ray crystallography (XRC). We will focus on how these techniques are applied during the investigation of inorganic problems.
Presentation Schedule
The Presentation Schedule (academic timetable) is available on the Online Learning Environment (OLE), and it gives the dates for completing assignments and laboratory sessions.
Optional reference books
There is no compulsory set book. However, the following are recommended reference books for the course:
- Crabtree, R H (2005) The Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Metals, 4th edn, Wiley Science.
- Smart, L E and Moore, E A (2012) Solid-state Chemistry: An Introduction, 4th edn, CRC Press.
Face-to-face instruction
Other than the study units, you are required to attend TWO compulsory day schools planned for the course.
Five laboratory experiments will be arranged for you to gain hands-on experience in lab work. The scope of the five laboratory sessions is as follows:
- Laboratory 1: Investigation of spectrochemical series of cobalt complexes
- Laboratory 2: Preparation of tris-acetylacetonato iron (III) complex
- Laboratory 3: Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles
- Laboratory 4: Synthesis of cis-platin
- Laboratory 5: Synthesis of macrocyclic nickel (II) complexes
Attendance of ANY TWO of these sessions can be counted to fulfil the compulsory day school requirement. The schedule and outline of these experiments will be provided in due course.
Equipment requirements
Both students and tutors need to have at least the following equipment for the course:
Hardware
Portable computer with the following minimum configuration
- Intel Pentium III 800 MHz processor (recommended 6GHz Pentium IV)
- 1GB RAM (recommended 2GB RAM)
- 1 GHz of free disk space
- Internet capability.
Software
- English Windows XP or above
- Web Browser: Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or equivalent, with Flash capability