The aim of this module is to extend a student's knowledge of physical chemistry, in particular to demonstrate the understanding of electrochemical cells, surfactants and colloids, and the quantum mechanical description of chemical bonding.

(LO1) Ability to describe and discuss the physical chemistry underlying electrochemical cells, batteries and fuel cells, and to perform fundamental thermodynamic calculations on electrochemical cells.

(LO2) Ability to apply the physicochemical knowledge gained in the course, including the relevant equations, to solve problems relating to the physical chemistry of the condensed state.

(LO3) Ability to describe the physical chemistry of surfactants and colloids.

(LO4) Ability to understand the differences between ideal and ideal systems

(LO5) Ability to understand the chemical bonding in molecules from quantum mechanical principles

(S1) Problem-solving Skills

(S2) Practical application of physical models

Lectures. 22 x 1 hour lectures, including 2 revision lectures.

Workshops. 1 x 3 hour maths revision workshop at the beginning of the course.

Tutorials. 9 x 2 hr tutorials (not assessed) in which the students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge that they have gained from the lectures to problems of varying difficulty.

Coursework. Two class tests in the middle and end of the semester in the form of multiple choice quizzes requiring the application of both knowledge gained from lectures and from reading around the subject and problem-solving skills gained in the tutorials.

*Lectures: 22 hr
*Tutorials: 18 hr
*Workshop: 3 hr

Ionic species, electrochemistry and introduction to surface chemistry (10 lectures)
• Electrolytes and electrochemical thermodynamics
•Structure of liquids. Ion-solvent interactions. Examples of ionic hydration energies. Activities of ions. Half ell reactions and standard electrode potentials.
•Transport properties in liquids. Conductivity and mobility.
•Liquid surfaces: surface tensions and capillary rise. The Young equation. Contact angles and surface wetting.
•Surfactants: Detergents and surfactants. Structure and properties of amphiphilic molecules. Critical micelle concentration. Monolayers.
•Colloids: structure of colloidal solutions. Origin of colloid stability. DVLO Theory.

Quantum Mechanics (10 lectures)
•Introduction to the use of atomic units, radial coordinates, 3D integrals and perturbation theory as tools to solve problems in quantum mechanics.
•Derivation of the orbitals of the hydrogen atom as solutions to the time-independent Schrodinger equation.
•Consideration of many electron atoms, the orbital approximation and electronic spin
•Deriving the states of the two couple electrons in the helium atom. Pauli repulsion, Fermionic anti-symmetry, Slater determinants.
•Deriving the molecular orbitals of the H2+ molecule. Secular determinants.
•Using the linear combination of atomic orbitals and other basis sets
•Demonstration of Hückel theory applied to conjugated pi systems
•Presentation of Hartree-Fock theory, and the improvement by including approximations to correlation