KIM 626E - Physical Organic Chemistry

Course Objectives

1. To teach the basic principles of physical organic chemistry, which comprise the most important tools and principles to unveil the organic reaction mechanisms to graduate students.
2. To provide the graduate students with the basic knowledge of tackling of the formidable challenges in organic reaction mechanisms using physical organic chemistry tools.

Course Description

Basics of reactivity and the concept of a reaction mechanism, the basics of photochemistry, pericyclic reactions, thermochemistry and kinetics of organic reactions, free energy relationships mechanistic tools (direct detection of intermediates, low temperature matrix techniques, trapping experiments) and non-statistical dynamics (non-RRKM). Selected examples from the current literature.