CHM2204   Organic Chemistry   (30 credits)

Description

This module addresses several fundamental areas of organic chemistry. Conformational behaviour of simple organic compounds is combined with stereochemical considerations to demonstrate the importance of three dimensional structure in the reactivity and spectroscopic properties of organic compounds. Substitution and elimination reactions are introduced from a mechanistic perspective. The concept of aromaticity is described and defined, and electrophilic and nucleophilic substitution reactions in aromatic systems covered. Methods for the synthesis of organic compounds, covering a wide range of common synthetic transformations, are described. Methods for determining the structures of organic compounds are described, focussed mainly on H-1 NMR spectroscopy, but integrating information from C-13 NMR, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, UV and IR spectroscopy. The module continues with an examination of the conformations and associated chemistry of key biological molecules. The primary structures of biopolymers are discussed, and basic concepts of biomolecular recognition introduced.

Reading List