Macquarie University

Synthesis - CBMS625

This unit serves the needs of students pursuing masters studies that includes the disciplines of chemistry, biological, medical, materials and health sciences. It will be valuable to anyone with an interest in how organic and inorganic compounds react with one another, and how chemists use this knowledge of molecular interactions to synthesise new compounds with desirable properties (eg, new pharmaceuticals, new catalysts, and new materials). The unit focuses on synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, but the principles, mechanisms and synthetic procedures that it deals with are not confined to organic/inorganic reactions: the material covered is particularly relevant to students interested in biochemistry, biotechnology, medical or materials sciences. Topics include: a review of chemical reactivity; introduction to the spectroscopic identification of compounds; reaction mechanisms; and synthetic methods. The study of these mechanisms and methods provides an understanding of chemical processes and reactivities that are applicable in designed and living systems. The practical component is aimed at developing laboratory skills and deductive reasoning; it comprises syntheses of various classes of compounds and identification of unknown compounds by chemical and spectroscopic means.