CHEM2303: Chemical Dynamics
Course Organizer: Dr Simon Banks
Lecturers: Dr Simon Banks, Prof Helen Fielding and Prof Angelos Michaelides
Normal prerequisite: CHEM1301 / CHEM1101 / CHEM2301 / CHEM2102
Units: 1/2
Course evaluation: 2011/2012 (pdf)
Moodle page: http://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=1035
Aims
The aim of this course is to teach students the fundamentals of modern chemical dynamics and modern experimental methods in chemical physics.
Objectives
At the end of the course, students will be able to understand molecular potential energy surfaces, molecular collisions and light-matter interactions. The emphasis is on both developing an understanding of the underlying chemical physics principles and on learning about state-of-the-art experimental techniques.
Course Structure
- Lectures: 27 (including worked problems)
- Workshops: 3
- Labs:0
Assessment
- Exam: 80% (2 hours)
- Lab: 0%
- Coursework: 20%
Recommended Texts
All the course information, recommended text books, lecture notes and assessed coursework will be available on moodle: http://moodle.ucl.ac.uk
Course Outline
Photophysics and Photochemistry (9 lectures + 1 workshop)
Dr Simon Banks
This Module will introduce the following:
- interaction between light and matter.
- potential energy surfaces, electronic configurations and states.
- vibronic excitation, transition dipole moments and selection rules.
- fates of excited states: radiative and non-radiative processes, Jablonski and energy state diagrams.
- quantum yields; Stern-Volmer plots.
- Kasha’s rule; delayed fluorescence; excimer fluorescence.
- diabatic and adiabatic representations; Landau-Zener theory.
- deuterium isotope effect; conical intersections.
- singlet-triplet transitions – El Sayed’s rules.
- chemical change: dissociation; alkenes and carbonyls as exemplars of photochemical reactivity.
Reaction Dynamics (9 lectures + 1 workshop)
Prof Angelos Michaelides
This Module will introduce the following:
- Introduction (elementary versus complex processes, reaction kinetics/dynamics)
- Useful definitions (including impact parameter, reaction cross-sections), link to thermal rate constants.
- Newton’s diagrams
- Experimental methods (molecular beams, reactant state selection, product state identification)
- Reactive scattering (forward and backward scattering, long-lived complex formation, stereochemistry, kinematically constrained reactions)
- Elastic scattering and potential energy curves
- Potential energy surfaces, definition, measurement and calculation, trajectory calculations (early and late barriers)
- Case studies/additional examples
Molecular
Reaction Dynamics - R. D. Levine
Reaction Dynamics - M. Brouard
Molecular Reaction Dynamics and
Chemical Reactivity - R.D.Levine and R.B. Berstein (previous version of
above text by Levine)
Atkins' Physical Chemistry - 8th Edition, p 885-894
Lasers and Laser Techniques (9 lectures + 1 workshop)
Prof Helen Fielding
This Module will introduce the following:
- Light-matter interactions: absorption, emission, polarisation, transition probabilities, spectral quantities, coherence,
- Theory of lasers: population inversion, threshold condition, resonators, properties of laser radiation, pulsed operation, mode locking, Q switching
- Implementation of laser sources: solid-state lasers, gas lasers, dye lasers,
- Non-linear optical techniques: phase matching, second-harmonic generation, frequency mixing, high-harmonic generation
- Spectral line widths and profiles, homogeneous and inhomogeneous line broadening
- Laser spectroscopy (connects with Chem2301 spectroscopy): laser-induced fluorescence, REMPI, cavity ring-down spectroscopy, Doppler-free spectroscopy
- Laser chemistry: laser photolysis, lifetime measurements, pump-probe experiments
- Modern developments: laser cooling, coherent control, attoscience, frequency combs.
Laser Spectroscopy - W.
Demtroder
Modern Spectroscopy - J.M. Hollas
Modern
Optics - E. Hecht
