Complements of physical chemistry

In general, the course aims at providing students with basic knowledge in the field of physical chemistry. Initially, the fundamentals of quantum mechanics will be discussed, from the postulates to the resolution of simple mono- and multi-dimensional systems. Then, the focus will be shifted to the quantum description of systems of chemical interest, includin hydrogen-like atoms, molecules, and the harmonic oscillator and rigid rotor models. In this context, the quantum mechanical description of angular momentum will be discussed. Finally, the methodologies employed for finding an approximate solution to the Schrödinger equation will be illustrated, including the variational principle and perturbation theory. Furthermore, students will be acquainted with reaction rate theories, fundamental concepts of chemical kinetics and theoretical methodologies appropriate for modelling and understanding the evolution of gas-phase reactions. The statistical and thermodynamic formulation of Conventional Transition State Theory (CTST) will be analysed, along with a further explanation of important terms such as partition functions, density of states, symmetry and statistical factors and tunnelling contributions. Extension of CTST to Variational Transition State Theory (VTST) will be given as a following step, along with the Rice-Ramsperger- Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory.