Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

The learning process that has been designed for this subject is based on the following:

1.- Lectures, in which the teacher will explain the theoretical foundations of the different techniques and how they are applied for the structural determination.

2.- Resolution and discussion of problems and cases. Typical problems include those in which students will be asked to use the concepts learned in order to deduce the structure compatible with the spectroscopic data given or to propose the expected spectrum for a known molecule. 

3. Demonstrations, related to the preparation of samples and the measurement of the spectroscopic properties of selected compounds.

Students are encouraged to participate and discuss different aspects of the subject in order to develop critical thinking and inquiry-based learning.

5.2. Learning tasks

The learning program includes the following activities

1. Lectures (30 sessions of 50 min, 3 ECTS).
2. Problem resolution, case studies and demostrations (30 sessions of 50 min, 3 ECTS). 

5.3. Syllabus

• Characterization of chemical compounds: general aspects.
• Infrared spectroscopy. Bases and applications. Types of vibrations. Regions of the IR spectrum. Study of the functional groups. Interpretation of spectra. Problems and case studies. Instrumentation. Sample preparation.
• Mass spectrometry. Bases and applications. Ionization methods and ions analysis. Molecular ion. Isotopic peaks. Mass exact. Fragmentations. Problems and case studies. Instrumentation. Sample preparation.
• Nuclear magnetic resonance: proton. Bases and applications. Instrumentation. Chemical shift and shielding. Chemical equivalence. Integration. Spin-spin coupling. Study of the functional groups. Handling of the data tables. Problems and case studies. Sample preparation.
• Nuclear magnetic resonance: carbon. Bases and applications. Study of the functional groups. Handling of the data tables. Two-dimensional NMR. Problems and case studies.
• Strategies for the assignment of the structure of a compound from the corresponding spectra.
• Nuclear magnetic resonance of other nuclei. Nuclei with different nuclear spin and different isotopic abundance. Satellites. Spin systems. Problems and case studies.
• Nuclear magnetic resonnace spectra of first and second order. Chemical and magnetic inequivalence. Simplification of spectra. Fluxionality in chemical compounds. Problems and case studies.
• UV-visible spectroscopy. Chromophores of general interest. Electronic spectra: types of transitions. Transitions in the free ion and in complex ions. Splitting of the d orbitals: strong-field and weak field approximations. Correlation diagrams. Tanabe-Sugano diagrams. Selection rules. Jahn-Teller effect. Problems and case studies.
• Magnetic susceptibilities in transition metal complexes. Effective magnetic moment. Orbital contribution. Problems and case studies.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

The schedule of sessions is published in the bulletin board and web page of the Faculty of Science  (http://ciencias.unizar.es/web/horarios.do)

There will be two partial examinations, whose exact dates will be communicated well in advance on the bulletin board and through the ADD. As a guide, the examinations will take place in early December and in mid-January.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

Complementary material: exercises, questions, presentations, etc. will be available to students in reprography and in the website https://moodle2.unizar.es/add/.