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Module

CHY8422 : Pericyclic and radical reactions

  • Offered for Year: 2020/21
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Michael Hall
  • Lecturer: Dr Julian Knight
  • Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Semester 1 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 5.0

Aims

To introduce and develop the concepts of thermal and photochemical pericyclic reactions and Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) theory; to describe the methods used to determine the mechanisms of such reactions; to discuss radical chemistry; to explore reactions involving radicals and ions in cyclisation reactions.

Outline Of Syllabus

Pericyclic reactions and Frontier Molecular Orbital Theory (FMO)
Dr JG Knight

1-3 Molecular Orbitals and revision of the application of Frontier MO theory to ionic (and radical) processes and relevance to Hard and Soft Acid and Base theory.
Construction of basic FMO's for linear conjugated pi-systems.
Introduction to pericyclic reactions.
4-6 Cycloaddition reactions. The Diels-Alder reaction: mechanism, Frontier-Orbital analysis, stereospecificity. The effect of substituents on FMO energies and coefficients. Stereoselectivity and regioselectivity in Diels-Alder reactions. Cheletropic reactions and 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. Photochemical cycloaddition reactions. The Woodward-Hoffmann rules.
7-8 Electrocyclic reactions.
9-11 Sigmatropic reactions. Group transfer reactions.
12 Revision lecture

Radical Reactions
Dr MJ Hall

1-2 Introduction to free radicals: generation of radicals (thermal, photochemical, electrochemical), properties and reactivity, SOMO, hard vs. soft.
3-4 Stoichiometric radical processes: removal of functional groups and other applications in synthesis.
5-7 Kinetics of radical reactions: chain reactions, polymerisation, the use of tin centred radicals, applications in synthesis, alternatives for tin.
8 Ring closing reactions: predicting ring closure with Baldwin’s rules and cascade processes.
9-11 Modern advances in radical chemistry
12 Revision lecture

Teaching Methods

Module leaders are revising this content in light of the Covid 19 restrictions.
Revised and approved detail information will be available by 17 August.

Assessment Methods

Module leaders are revising this content in light of the Covid 19 restrictions.
Revised and approved detail information will be available by 17 August.

Reading Lists

Timetable