Course overview
Physical chemistry underpins many of the greatest challenges facing society today, from climate change to energy security to accessible clean water. This course provides the student with an in-depth understanding of the basic principles of physical chemistry, including statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, chemical kinetics and spectroscopy, which govern the energy-conversion processes, light-matter interactions, and physicochemical transformations that are central to tackling these challenges. The course also introduces the student to state-of-the-art numerical methods to solve physical chemistry problems, furnishing transferable computational skills in the "big data" era. Hands-on practical experience of experimental techniques for physical analysis and spectroscopic characterisation is provided through extensive laboratories activities.
Course learning outcomes
- Describe and explain fundamental concepts of physical chemistry, including those of statistical mechanics, chemical kinetics, quantum mechanics, and spectroscopy.
- apply simple physical models to predict properties of chemical systems.
- apply numerical or computational methods to calculate physical properties of chemical systems and assess the appropriateness of different computational techniques and numerical approximations for solving particular physical chemistry problems.
- demonstrate proficiency in undertaking individual and/or team-based laboratory investigations using appropriate apparatus and safe laboratory practices, including the collection, analysis, interpretation and communication of results of an experiment.
- design and plan an investigation by selecting and applying appropriate practical, theoretical, and/or computational techniques or tools.