Chemistry BSc

Core modules:

Chemistry in a Sustainable Future

Chemistry has a crucial role to play in creating a sustainable world. This module looks at the contributions chemists can make to society, with a particular focus on sustainability and green chemistry. Students will learn where everyday essentials including food and energy come from, and how chemistry can help combat global warming by, for example, making the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and feedstocks possible. To make the biggest impact on society, students will learn how to explain scientific concepts to a range of audiences by working in groups to produce articles, infographics and other content.

10 credits

Fundamentals of Chemistry

This is the first module that all of our undergraduate students take, and takes up most of the first year. It covers the fundamental concepts behind the four main branches of chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical and analytical), and teaches practical skills that every chemist needs. Themes include the structure of atoms and molecules, how chemical reactions happen, and how to identify and analyse different chemicals and elements. Topics are covered in lectures, workshops, small group tutorials and in the laboratory.

80 credits

Essential Skills for Chemists

This module provides first year chemistry students with the broader academic and professional skills required to study chemistry at degree level. The module includes fundamental physics and mathematics, data analysis, computing skills, and searching and using the scientific literature. Students will also undertake a group project on the standards and values expected of a professional chemist.

The module has been designed to introduce students to varied methods of learning and teaching used throughout the programme including online self-led activities, lectures and group work.

20 credits

Optional modules:

Chemistry in the Biological World Around Us

Chemistry is the backbone of fundamental biological processes, from healthcare and medicine to countless other features of modern life. This module brings together the four main branches of chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical and analytical) to explain the principles behind the biology we experience in our day-to-day lives. Examples of the kinds of topic that will be described are medicine, nutrition, the molecules that have defined modern biology, and studies of molecules that have shaped and changed the biological world.

10 credits

Chemistry in the Physical World Around Us

Many of the technologies, products and structures we take for granted in our everyday lives rely on chemistry. This module brings together the four main branches of chemistry (organic, inorganic, physical and analytical) to explain the chemical principles of the world around us. Examples of the kinds of topic that will be described are the chemistry of explosives, molecules that glow, toiletries, cosmetics, laundry and foodstuffs.

10 credits

Core modules:

Enterprise and Employability

This module focuses on the ways that chemistry can be applied in business, and for the benefit of society as a whole. Students will analyse and discuss examples of successful and unsuccessful commercial endeavours to learn, for example, how new drugs have been discovered while others have failed. They will then be introduced to the process of developing a business and, working in small groups, students, will develop and present their own idea for a business based on an area of chemistry that they have chosen. As part of this module, students also attend our annual Careers Day, where chemistry students can explore career options and meet with employers who hire chemistry graduates.

10 credits

Environmental, Analytical & Sustainable Chemistry

Chemistry - in terms of both natural processes and artificial phenomena - has a clear impact on the environment. This module will look at some of ways chemicals interact with the environment, and explore how we can measure the sustainability of a chemical process and potentially improve its green credentials. In this context, students will expand their analytical chemistry skills and their ability to determine structures of compounds. This includes looking at how mixtures of compounds can be separated and how the proportions of their components can be determined. In the lab, students design and conduct their own experiments to investigate a real chemical problem from the world around us.

20 credits

Inorganic Chemistry: Structure, Bonding & Reactivity

This module is designed to deepen students' understanding of inorganic chemistry, including main group compounds, transition metal coordination complexes and inorganic solids. Students will learn how symmetry principles can be used to explain molecular structure and bonding using molecular orbital theory as well as to analyse the structures of highly ordered crystals. Spectroscopy techniques are taught so that students can learn how to characterise inorganic compounds, while studying the different reactions and properties that these chemicals display. In the lab, students develop their practical skills by synthesising and characterising inorganic compounds, safely and efficiently.

30 credits

Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science

Chemical structures are based on a number of important physical principles. This module builds up students understanding of the theory behind physical and chemical phenomena. Students will use quantum mechanics to examine the structure and properties of atoms and molecules, and the laws of thermodynamics are used to explain the properties of mixtures and equilibria. Polymers are also introduced and students learn how to prepare and characterise these compounds, which are behind many familiar products and technologies. The theory behind common spectroscopic techniques that are used to investigate molecular structures are also covered. In the lab, students get more experience of the techniques chemists use to gather and analyse data from chemical processes and determine the properties of different materials.

30 credits

Synthetic, Mechanistic and Biological Aspects of Organic Chemistry

This module builds on students' knowledge of the common functional groups within organic molecules that are responsible for many chemical reactions including aromatic rings, alkenes and carbonyls. Several classes of chemical reactions are studied in detail, with a focus on understanding the mechanisms behind them. Students also learn how to design synthetic routes to prepare molecules. Students will look at biological systems from a chemical perspective, including the structures and functions of biopolymers such as proteins and DNA. In the lab, students further develop the practical skills needed to carry out synthetic organic chemistry, in a safe and efficient manner.

30 credits

Core modules:

Organometallic, Solid State and Coordination Chemistry

This module will continue to develop students' knowledge and skills in inorganic chemistry, dealing with the properties of compounds in both solution and the solid state. It will cover the synthesis, structures and reactivity of organometallic compounds and their important role in catalysis, along with structural, photophysical and magnetic properties of coordination compounds. The principles of crystallographic structure determination are introduced, with a focus on single crystal X-ray diffraction. Practical work in the lab focuses on developing experimental skills in the study of inorganic compounds, using contemporary synthetic and analytical methods.

20 credits

Chemistry Employability Skills and Projects

This module is designed to give students more of the practical and transferable skills they need for a career in chemistry, and many graduate jobs. Students systematically gather data from scientific literature and other sources, to practice evaluating and presenting complex information. Work is done independently and in groups, with lots of opportunities for students to reflect on their work and get feedback from their teams. In the lab, students develop their practical skills through an independent chemistry research project.

30 credits

Mechanisms, Pericyclic Reactions and Synthesis

This module expands students' understanding of organic chemistry. It covers how applications of frontier orbital theory inform on reactivity and how reaction mechanisms are investigated. Synthetic organic chemistry is developed further, with a focus on aromatic and heterocyclic systems and the application of transition metal-mediated cross coupling reactions. Students will learn about key scientific studies in organic chemistry, and put new concepts into practice in our advanced teaching laboratory.

20 credits

Statistical Thermodynamics, Spectroscopy, Surfaces, Colloids

This module introduces more advanced concepts in physical chemistry. Students will learn to apply a statistical approach to thermodynamics, explore electronic excited states, and discover the fundamental principles of chemistry at surfaces . Bulk thermodynamic properties will be understood in terms of the properties of individual molecules, allowing equilibrium constants and gas-phase reactions to be calculated from first principles. Electronic levels in polyatomic molecules are studied, to show how spectroscopy provides information on changes in molecular structures, and on the lifetimes of excited states. Students are introduced to the chemistry of colloids and surfaces, including experimental methods for studying adsorption and thermodynamics at gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces, the role of surface chemistry in heterogeneous catalysis, and the fundamental principles that control the stability and properties of colloidal systems.

20 credits

Optional modules:

Chemistry in Space

The Universe was long considered to be a vast, mostly empty, expanse. Astronomers now know that the Universe is anything but. In certain regions there is extremely interesting chemistry to explore, initiated by starlight and fast-moving particles known as cosmic rays. Approximately 180 different molecules have already been detected in space, ranging from dihydrogen to simple sugars. This module will discuss the methods used to detect these molecules and the models that explain their existence. It will cover astrochemistry, and provide an introduction to extra-terrestrial chemistry and the field of astrobiology - including its potential implications for the development of life on Earth and on other planets.

10 credits

Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Synthesis

In the last century, medicinal chemistry has revolutionised healthcare, disease outcomes and life expectancy around the globe. This module will explain how medicinal chemistry emerged as a multidisciplinary field, how the biological mechanisms behind disease are identified, and how chemistry is used to target these mechanisms and develop treatments. Students will learn about drug profiles, the rules of drug discovery drug-target interaction surveys, the development of common anticancer drugs such as cisplatin, and some of the synthetic approaches commonly used by medicinal chemists, such as heterocyclic chemistry.

10 credits

Properties of Inorganic Materials

Many of the materials we encounter are solids, ranging from minerals and metals, to semiconductors and molecular crystals. These materials have diverse properties - mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, light absorption - that mean they can be used in lots of different ways, such as electronics or energy generation and storage. This module will look at the electronic, thermal, optical and mechanical properties of inorganic materials and cover microscopic, spectroscopic and diffraction techniques used to characterise solids. It will also illustrate how inorganic materials are used in, for example, semiconductor technology and energy conversion.

10 credits

Structure and Mechanism of Biomolecule Function

Understanding the many functions of proteins is a fundamental problem for chemists to help solve, and can lead to new drugs and treatments. This course covers protein function, from ligand binding to enzyme catalysed reactions. Students look at the structure of protein-ligand interactions and the main biophysical techniques used to quantify energy flows in protein-drug interactions. They also learn about kinetic methods of analysis that shed light on enzyme mechanisms, and how these experimental approaches are used to design effective enzyme inhibitors, leading to new drugs. There is also training in core data analysis techniques.

10 credits

Supramolecular Chemistry

Supramolecular chemistry is the study of chemistry 'beyond the molecule'. Rather than using covalent chemistry to build ever more complex molecules, supramolecular chemists make use of the weaker interactions between ions and molecules to build sophisticated assemblies of molecules. Students will learn how complementary interactions can be used for molecular recognition and to drive the self-assembly of well defined molecular structures such as grids, helicates and cages in solution. They will also learn how these assemblies can act as sensors, catalysts, molecular machines and as responsive and self-healing materials.

10 credits

Sustainable Chemistry, Energy Generation and Storage

The environmental impact of rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions is prompting society to explore new methods to generate, use and store energy. This module will build on the sustainability students have already learned, to cover a number of modern approaches to energy generation and storage. There will be a particular focus on how biomass can be used to produce renewable chemicals and fuels, photovoltaics and alternative energy sources, fuel cells, nuclear energy, actinide availability and devices for energy storage. Examples are drawn from cutting-edge academic research and the latest applications in industry.

10 credits

Synthetic Approaches in Chemical Biology

The ability to synthesise biomolecules has led to many of the most significant developments in molecular and chemical biology. This module looks at how biomolecules are created, from both biological and chemical perspectives. Student's knowledge will build up from understanding the central dogma and basic chemistry of life, to exploring important chemical biology techniques such as DNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction, protein overproduction and site directed mutagenesis. Topics also include the production of novel biomolecules for bioconjugation, rational design, directed evolution, antibody production, and the new discoveries that synthetic biology might open the door to.

10 credits

Molecular Modelling

Theoretical modelling has been firmly established in the modern chemistry research toolbox, thanks to its ability to probe molecular structures at a level of detail that is inaccessible to experiments. Modelling also allows us to explain experimentally observed properties of molecules and materials and to predict properties of new molecules. This course will build on existing knowledge of quantum chemistry and then follow on to introduce classical molecular modelling - a powerful method for computer modelling of the structures and dynamics of large (bio) molecules. Hands-on workshops will give students an opportunity to use computers to investigate chemical systems.

10 credits