Basic Physical Chemistry A Complete Introduction on Bachelor of Science Level

Description

Based on the principles of physics and mathematics to obtain quantitative relations, Physical Chemistry deals with the structure and dynamics of matter. These relations are mainly concerned with phase and chemical equilibrium, or dynamic processes such as phase transitions, reaction kinetics, charge transport, and energy exchange between systems and surroundings. Importantly, Physical Chemistry is based on quite a small number of fundamental quantities and general physical concepts. This book tries to provide a complete overview of physical chemistry on the level of a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, presenting first all the mathematical concepts needed to understand the formalisms as well as the example problems presented in the subsequent chapters on thermodynamics, kinetics, electrochemistry and, finally, a brief introduction into quantum chemistry and spectroscopy.

Content

1. Mathematical Basics
   1. Differentials and simple differential equations
   2. Logarithms and trigonometric functions
   3. Linearization of mathematical functions, and Taylor series expansion
   4. Treating experimental data – SI-system and error calculation
2. Thermodynamics
   1. Definitions
   2. Gas equations
   3. The fundamental laws of thermodynamics
   4. Heat capacities
   5. Phase equilibrium
   6. The chemical equilibrium
   7. Reaction energy
3. Kinetics
   1. Elementary reactions (one single reaction step, molecularity = order)
   2. The kinetics of more complex multistep chemical reactions
   3. Activation energy
4. Electrochemistry
   1. Electric Conductivity
   2. The electrochemical potential and electrochemical cells
5. Introduction to Quantum Chemistry and Spectroscopy
   1. Models of the atom
   2. The wave character of matter, or the wave-particle-dualism
   3. Mathematical solutions of some simple problems in quantum mechanics: particle in a box, harmonic oscillator, rotator and the hydrogen atom
   4. A brief introduction to optical spectroscopy

About the Author

Wolfgang Schaertl was born in 1964 in Celle/Germany. He studied Chemistry at Mainz University from 1984 until 1989, and received his PhD in Chemistry in 1992 for his thesis on video microscopy of fluorescent nanoparticles, and Brownian dynamics computer simulations. As a post-doc, he joined the Hashimoto ERATO project in Kyoto/Japan, where he investigated the structure and dynamics of copolymer micelles in polymer melts. In 1995 he went to Manfred Schmidt at the University of Mainz as a research fellow, where he finished his ‘‘habilitation’’ in 2001 with a thesis on functional core–shell nanoparticles. Since 2005 Wolfgang Schaertl has held a permanent position as lecturer and researcher at Mainz University, Germany. His current research interests include light scattering characterization of nanoparticles, and rheological studies of natural polymer gels (gelatin etc.). Wolfgang Schaertl has published more than 50 refereed publications in international journals, including two frequently cited review papers on nanoparticles. In addition, he has written a textbook about light scattering characterization of polymers and nanoparticles in 2007. Wolfgang Schaertl gives several lectures in Physical Chemistry per term at Mainz University for more than 10 years, covering the whole curriculum in Physical Chemistry for the Bachelor of Education and the Master of Education degrees at Mainz University. Finally, he has also offered many seminars about the theoretical background of the basic and advanced practical courses in Physical Chemistry for the Bachelor of Science.