First Half Prospectus
I. Thermodynamics – bonding and stability in organic molecules
A. Experimental enthalpic calorimetry
(where to get information, how to use it)
B. Estimating enthalpy changes
(how to do it, how to use it, how much to trust it)
C. Computational chemistry (its
uses and its limitations for thermochemistry)
D. Entropy versus enthalpy; sometimes
reinforcing, sometimes opposing
E. Some basic uses of thermodynamics
to probe structure and reactivity
II.. Kinetics – reactivity and mechanism in organic molecules
A. Experimental techniques for measuring
kinetics
B. Theoretical techniques for predicting
kinetics
C. Energetics = possibilities, kinetics
= realities. Using kinetics as a mechanistic tool
D. Some basic uses of kinetics to probe
mechanisms
III. Quantum mechanics – getting to know your molecules
A. Using molecular orbitals to understand electron,
charge, and spin distributions
B. Using molecular orbitals to understand molecular
reactivity
C. Using frequency computations to identify
reactive intermediates
D. Using enthalpy computations to predict reaction
thermodynamics
E. Using transition state computations to
predict reaction kinetics
IV. Solvation – always important and often forgotten
A. Effects of polarity
B. Effects of viscosity
C. Using solvation to your advantage in synthesis
and mechanism
D. "Solvation" in constricted environments
-- toward enzymes, ion transport, and zeolites
V. Basic mechanistic classes
A. Substitution reactions – recognition with
examples
1. Nucleophilic
substitution
2. Radical
substitutions
B. Elimination reactions – recognition with
examples
1. Stepwise
elimination
2. Pericyclic
elimination
C. Addition reactions – recognition with examples
1. Ionic
additions
2. Radical
additions
3. Pericyclic
additions
VI. Some "big picture" areas of present and future interest for organic-related
chemistry
A. Molecular assembly in solid and solution
phases
B. Solid state reactions – chemistry
under the hammer
C. Electronic materials
D. Specific catalysis for reactivity
and bond formation
E. Hydrogen bonding and molecular complementarity
in biological and materials chemistry
Second Half Prospectus
I. Quantum Mechanics - Towards Understanding Bonding and Spectroscopy