Physical Chemistry: Quantum Mechanics and Spectroscopy

Catalog description

This course is primarily devoted to quantum mechanics, a theory that currently plays a central role in structural chemistry, theoretical chemistry, and spectroscopy. In contrast to classical mechanics, which describes the interaction of energy and matter on large bodies, quantum mechanics focuses on the interactions of energy and matter at the atomic and subatomic level. Hence, this course provides detailed insight into modern approaches that explain the structure and spectra of atoms and molecules. After completion of this course, students are able to understand the origins and meanings of key chemical concepts, including wave functions, atomic and molecular orbitals, energy levels, hybridization, atomic and molecular spectra, and electron spin. Students are also able to interpret various spectra - electronic, rotational, infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance - and to correlate these to the structures of atoms and molecules.