Course code:
252H2		 Course name:
Physical Organic Chemistry

Academic year:

2024/2025.

Attendance requirements:

There are no requirements.

ECTS:

9

Study level:

graduate academic studies, integrated basic and graduate academic studies

Study programs:

Chemical Education: 5. year, winter semester, elective (E5AP2) course

Chemistry: 1. year, winter semester, elective (E52H2) course

Teacher:

Zorana B. Ferjančić, Ph.D.
associate professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, Beograd

Assistant:

Bojan Z. Vulović, Ph.D.
assistant professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, Beograd

Hours of instruction:

Weekly: four hours of lectures + two hours of exercises + three hours of labwork (4+2+3)

Goals:

The goal of this course is to introduce the students to the concepts and physical basis of the reactivity of organic molecules. Through it, the students will become familiar with the structure-reactivity relationships in organic chemistry, and with methods for examination and determination of the organic reaction mechanisms.

Outcome:

At the end of this course, the students will be able to independently propose organic reaction mechanism, as well as to estimate validity of the previously proposed ones.

Teaching methods:

Lectures, theoretical exercises, labwork, colloquia Đnd semmester papers.

Extracurricular activities:

—

Coursebooks:

Main coursebooks:

  • Eric V. Anslyn, Dennis A. Dougherty: Modern Physical Organic Chemistry, University Science Books, 2006.

Supplementary coursebooks:

  • Francis A. Carey, Richard J. Sundberg: Advanced Organic Chemistry Part A: Structure and Mechanisms, Springer, 2008.

Additional material:

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  Course activities and grading method

Lectures:

0 points (4 hours a week)

Syllabus:

  1. Thermochemistry of stable molecules. Thermochemistry of reactive intermediates.
  2. Solutions and non-covalent interactions.
  3. Organic acids and bases.
  4. Energy surfaces and kinetic analysis.
  5. Thermodynamic and kinetic experiments for determination of mechanisms or organic reactions.
  6. Catalysis. General- and specific-acid catalysis. General- and specific-base catalysis.
  7. Application of the previously studied postulates and methods in determination of organic reaction mechanisms.

Exercises:

0 points (2 hours a week)

Syllabus:

  1. Bond dissociation energies, heats of formation and combustion of organic molecules.
  2. Predicting acid and base strength in solution.
  3. Rates of reaction. Reaction coordinates and activated complex. Eyring plot.
  4. Interpretation of activation parameters. Hammond postulate. Curtin-Hammett principle.
  5. Kinetic isotope effects.
  6. Linear free energy relationships. Hammett plot.
  7. The Bronsted catalysis law.

Labwork:

0 points (3 hours a week)

Syllabus:

  • First order kinetics. Solvolysis of tertbutyl chloride. Determination of rate constants at different temperatures. Determination of Arrhenius parameters.
  • Second order kinetics. Saponification of ethyl acetate. Determination of rate constants at different temperatures. Determination of Arrhenius parameters.
  • Pseudo-first order kinetics. Determination of the real second order rate constants. Determination of Arrhenius parameters.
  • Determination of Hammett reaction constant for the reaction of ester solvolysis. Analysis of the Hammett reaction constant.

Semester papers:

10 points

Colloquia:

20 points

Written exam:

70 points