Chemistry 460 » Spring (odd years) » 2nd Half
2 Credits
Chemical Kinetics
Instructor(s): David W. McCamant

Prerequisites: CHM 251 or CHM 451 or equivalent.
Crosslisting: None.

Course Summary:
Within the broad area of chemical kinetics, this course will focus on basic concepts of kinetics, photochemistry and electron-transfer (eT). In addition to studying bulk reaction rates, we will discuss Marcus's theory of eT, intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) and vibrational cooling, and the fates of photoexcited species (radiative and non-radiative decay channels). We will address the experimental quantification of these kinetics using time-resolved spectroscopy and analysis of kinetic data. The course material will be somewhat continuous with that of CHM 458, Molecular Spectroscopy.

Course Topics:
  1. Elementary Reaction Rates
    1. How mechanisms define rates.
    2. Classical, Arrhenius rate theory
    3. First and second order reactions
    4. “Complex” reaction kinetics
      1. Reversible reactions
      2. Parallel reactions
      3. Consecutive reactions
    5. Advanced methods:  Laplace transforms, Euler methods.
    6. Diffusion controlled reactions
    7. Catalytic (enzyme and surface) controlled reactions
  2. Photochemistry
    1. Jablonski Diagrams
    2. Absorption and Fluorescence rates and yields
    3. Nonradiative decay:
      1. Time-dependent quantum mechanical treatment
      2. Internal conversion,
      3. Intersystem crossing
      4. Vibrational relaxation
    4. Energy Transfer
      1. Forster and Dexter mechanisms
  3. Electron Transfer
    1. Marcus Theory
    2. Inner- and outer-sphere reorganization
    3. Normal and inverted kinetics

Required Text:
Nicholas J. Turro, Modern Molecular Photochemistry, University Science Books, newest edition, 1991.
Jeffrey Steinfeld, Joseph Franciso, William Hase, Chemical Kinetics and Dynamics, 2nd Edition,1999.

Back to Course Listing

You may also be interested in...