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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Chemistry : Chemistry

Postgraduate Course: Concepts in Materials Chemistry PGT (CHEM10074)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Chemistry CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course will introduce "Materials" as an area where Chemists have a leading role in the development and application of the new materials that are all pervasive in modern life. The course will explain how bulk mechanical, optical and conducting properties of materials can be related to factors such as electronic structure, crystallinity and molecular structure through an introduction to bonding in solids, band theory, crystal chemistry, materials synthesis and characterisation methods, together with examples of application in areas such as microelectronics, polymer science, catalysis and nanotechnology.
Course description The course consists of 30 lectures divided into several modules. Each lecture module will present important basic principles with the relevance of these illustrated using example materials. Each module is followed by a tutorial/examples class session where problems arising from the content can be discussed.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 30, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9, Summative Assessment Hours 3, Revision Session Hours 6, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 148 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 75 %, Coursework 25 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Written Exam (75%), Coursework (25%)
Feedback Each lecture module has an associated tutorial. This will provide students with practice at problem-solving and tackling exam-like questions. It is also an opportunity for students to discuss any issues pertaining to the lecture course.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)Concepts in Materials Chemistry PGT3:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)Concepts in Materials Chemistry PGT3:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. A masters-level knowledge of materials types, their underlying chemical structures and thermodynamics of phase transitions, and methods for the synthesis and characterisation of particular types of material.
  2. An understanding of some important materials properties, of ordering and bonding in the crystalline state and its characterisation by diffraction, and of key chemical mechanisms such as nanoparticle and macromolecule growth and catalytic activity.
  3. An appreciation of the practical requirements for modern materials, including multicomponent systems where interfaces are important, and structure-morphology-property relationships in materials ranging from ceramics to polymers.
Reading List
Introductory texts that cover much of the material:

Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction, L. Smart and E. Moore (Chapman and Hall).

Inorganic Materials Chemistry, M. T. Weller (OUP) Basic Solid State Chemistry, A.

R. West (Wiley).

Other text books containing useful chapters are:

Organic Chemistry Clayden, Greaves, Warren, Warren (Oxford University Press)

Atkins¿ Physical Chemistry, P. W. Atkins and J. de Paula (Oxford University Press)

Inorganic Chemistry, D. F. Shriver and P. W. Atkins (Oxford University Press)

Organic Chemistry, J. McMurry (Brooks Cole)

Structural Methods in Inorganic Chemistry, Ebsworth, Rankin, Cradock (Blackwell)

The Electronic Structure and Chemistry of Solids, P. A. Cox (OUP)

Polymer Chemistry, M. P. Stevens (OUP)

Gases, Liquids and Solids and Other States of Matter, D. Tabor (CUP)

Materials Science and Engineering: an Introduction, W. D. Callister (Wiley)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Note-taking skills
Numerical data interpretation and analysis
Unseen problem solving skills
KeywordsMaterials chemistry
Contacts
Course organiserProf John Attfield
Tel: (0131 6)51 7229
Email: J.P.Attfield@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Zoe Burger
Tel: (0131 6)50 7546
Email: zoe.burger@ed.ac.uk
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