3rd year Quantum Chemistry Lecture Material Alan Ryder

• Course outline
• Lecture Notes
• Reading lists
• Internet Resources
• Problem Sheet

There are 4 lectures on quantum chemistry and 1 exam question.
Lectures start on Monday the 13th of March 2012 and are held in the Dillon Theatre.
The problem sheet should be attempted before the tutorials start.

Quantum Chemistry (CH313) : Course Outline

This course gives a detailed insight into Quantum Chemistry.  Specific topics to be covered include:

• Failure of classical mechanics.
• Schrodinger Wave equation (SWE).
• 1D Translational motion: Particle in a box.
• Tunnelling.
• 2D Translational motion.
• 2D Translational motion:  Quantum dots.
• Rotational Motion. 
• Vibrational Motion.

The detailed syllabus is available to download here

Lecture Notes

These are only study aids, you are required to read the various textbooks. 
You should print out this handout prior to the lectures:  3rd year Quantum Notes.

Required Reading

Elements of Physical Chemistry, Atkins & de Paula, 4th Edition: Chapter 12: Quantum Theory  
This is a good introduction to what we will cover. But it does not cover all the topics in complete detail.
Physical Chemistry, Atkins & de Paula, 8^th Edition (recommended textbook).
Chapter 8 and 9 (up to section & including section 9.6).

Physical Chemistry, Atkins & de Paula, 9^th Edition, Chapter 7 and 8 (up to section & including section 8.6).
If you purchase the book there are a lot of electronic resources available in the ebook which are very useful for understanding quantum mechanics.  

Suggested Reading: 
An Introduction to Quantum Theory and Atomic Structure, P.A. Cox, Oxford Chemistry Primers. Chapters 1-3.

Internet resources

The following websites have useful online demos and graphics for illustrating many of the concepts covered in the lectures. You are advised to take a look.

Quantum physics online, This has a range of excellent visualizations of wave-particle duality (topic 1.1), barriers (topic 1.5), Harmonic oscillator (topic 3.6), and other concepts.
Quantum aspects of the world, contains links to notes and tutorials. 
3D quantum solution explained here from MIT OpenCourseWare.

Problem Sheet : This problem sheet contains indicative problems from the course.  You should attempt these prior to the scheduled tutorials. The sheet will be handed out during the first lecture. 
My strong advice is for people to work individually first and then in small groups.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility