GATE Chemistry Syllabus

Course Syllabus

Section A: Physical Chemistry

Unit 1: Structure

• Postulates of quantum mechanics

• Time dependent and time independent Schrödinger equations

• Born interpretation

• Particle in a box

• Harmonic oscillator

• Rigid rotor

• Hydrogen atom: atomic orbitals

• Multi-electron atoms: orbital approximation

• Variation and first order perturbation techniques

• Chemical bonding: Valence bond theory and LCAO-MO theory

• Hybrid orbitals

• Applications of LCAO-MOT to H_2+, H₂ and other homonuclear diatomic molecules, heteronuclear diatomic molecules like HF, CO, NO, and to simple delocalized π – electron systems

• Huckel approximation and its application to annular π – electron systems

• Symmetry elements and operations

• Point groups and character tables

• Origin of selection rules for rotational, vibrational, electronic and Raman spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules

• Einstein coefficients

• Relationship of transition moment integral with molar extinction coefficient and oscillator strength

• Basic principles of nuclear magnetic resonance: nuclear g factor, chemical shift, nuclear coupling

Unit 2: Equilibrium

• Laws of thermodynamics
• Standard states
• Thermochemistry
• Thermodynamic functions and their relationships −
  • Gibbs-Helmholtz and Maxwell relations
  • Van’t Hoff equation
• Criteria of spontaneity and equilibrium
• Absolute entropy
• Partial molar quantities
• Thermodynamics of mixing
• Chemical potential
• Fugacity, activity and activity coefficients
• Chemical equilibria
• Dependence of equilibrium constant on temperature and pressure
• Non-ideal solutions
• Ionic mobility and conductivity
• Debye-Huckel limiting law
• Debye-Huckel-Onsager equation
• Standard electrode potentials and electrochemical cells
• Potentiometric and conductometric titrations
• Phase rule
• Clausius Clapeyron equation
• Phase diagram of one component systems: CO₂, H₂O, S
• Two component systems −
  • Liquid-vapour system
  • Liquid-liquid system
  • Solid-liquid systems
• Fractional distillation
• Azeotropes and eutectics
• Statistical thermodynamics −
  • Microcanonical and canonical ensembles
  • Boltzmann distribution
  • Partition functions
  • Thermodynamic properties

Unit 3: Kinetics

• Transition state theory −
  • Eyring equation
  • Thermodynamic aspects
• Potential energy surfaces and classical trajectories
• Elementary, parallel, opposing and consecutive reactions
• Steady state approximation
• Mechanisms of complex reactions
• Unimolecular reactions
• Kinetics of polymerization and enzyme catalysis
• Fast reaction kinetics: relaxation and flow methods
• Kinetics of photochemical and photophysical processes

Unit 4: Surfaces and Interfaces

• Physisorption and chemisorption
• Langmuir, Freundlich and BET isotherms
• Surface catalysis: Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism
• Surface tension, viscosity
• Self-assembly
• Physical chemistry of colloids, micelles and macromolecules

Section B: Inorganic Chemistry

Unit 1: Main Group Elements

• Hydrides, halides, oxides, oxoacids, nitrides, sulfides – shapes and reactivity

• Structure and bonding of boranes, carboranes, silicones, silicates, boron nitride, borazines and phosphazenes

• Allotropes of carbon

• Chemistry of noble gases, pseudohalogens, and interhalogen compounds

• Acid-base concepts

Unit 2: Transition Elements

• Coordination chemistry −

  • structure and isomerism

  • Theories of bonding (VBT, CFT, and MOT)

• Energy level diagrams in various crystal fields, CFSE, applications of CFT, Jahn-Teller distortion

• Electronic spectra of transition metal complexes −

  • Spectroscopic term symbols

  • Selection rules

  • Orgel diagrams

  • Charge-transfer spectra

• Magnetic properties of transition metal complexes

• Reaction mechanisms −

  • Kinetic and thermodynamic stability

  • Substitution and redox reactions

Unit 3: Lanthanides and Actinides

• Recovery
• Periodic properties
• Spectra properties
• Magnetic properties

Unit 4: Organometallics

• 18-Electron rule
  • metal-alkyl
  • metal-carbonyl
  • metal-olefin and metalcarbene complexes
  • metallocenes
• Fluxionality in organometallic complexes
• Types of organometallic reactions
• Homogeneous catalysis −
  • Hydrogenation
  • Hydroformylation
  • Acetic acid synthesis
  • Metathesis and olefin oxidation
• Heterogeneous catalysis −
  • Fischer-Tropsch reaction
  • Ziegler-Natta polymerization

Unit 5: Radioactivity

• Decay processes
• Half-life of radioactive elements
• Fission and fusion processes

Unit 6: Bioinorganic Chemistry

• Ion (Na^+ and K^+) transport
• Oxygen binding
• Transport and utilization
• Electron transfer reactions
• Nitrogen fixation
• Metalloenzymes containing −
  • Magnesium
  • Molybdenum
  • Iron
  • Cobalt
  • Copper
  • Zinc

Unit 7: Solids

• Crystal systems and lattices
• Miller planes
• Crystal packing
• Crystal defects
• Bragg’s law
• Ionic crystals
• Structures of AX, AX2, ABX3 type compounds
• Spinels
• Band theory
• Metals
• Semiconductors

Unit 8: Instrumental Methods of Analysis

• UV-visible spectrophotometry
• NMR and ESR spectroscopy
• Mass spectrometry
• Chromatography including GC and HPLC
• Electroanalytical methods −
  • Polarography
  • Cyclic voltammetry
  • Ion-selective electrodes
• Thermoanalytical methods

Section C: Organic Chemistry

Unit 1: Stereochemistry

• Chirality of organic molecules with or without chiral centres and determination of their absolute configurations

• Relative stereochemistry in compounds having more than one stereogenic centre

• Homotopic, enantiotopic and diastereotopic atoms, groups and faces

• Stereoselective and stereospecific synthesis

• Conformational analysis of acyclic and cyclic compounds

• Geometrical isomerism

• Configurational and conformational effects, and neighbouring group participation on reactivity and selectivity/specificity

Unit 2: Reaction Mechanisms

• Basic mechanistic concepts −

  • Kinetic versus thermodynamic control

  • Hammond’s postulate and Curtin-Hammett principle

• Methods of determining reaction mechanisms through identification of products, intermediates and isotopic labeling

• Nucleophilic and electrophilic substitution reactions (both aromatic and aliphatic)

• Addition reactions to carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom (N, O) multiple bonds

• Elimination reactions

• Reactive intermediates −

  • Carbocations

  • Carbanions

  • Carbenes

  • Nitrenes

  • Arynes

  • Free radicals

• Molecular rearrangements involving electron deficient atoms

Unit 3: Organic Synthesis

• Synthesis, reactions, mechanisms and selectivity involving the following classes of compounds −

  • Alkenes

  • Alkynes

  • Arenes

  • Alcohols

  • Phenols

  • Aldehydes

  • Ketones

  • Carboxylic acids

  • Esters

  • Nitriles

  • Halides

  • Nitro compounds

  • Amines and amides

• Uses of Mg, Li, Cu, B, Zn and Si based reagents in organic synthesis

• Carbon-carbon bond formation through coupling reactions - Heck, Suzuki, Stille and Sonogoshira

• Concepts of multistep synthesis −

  • Retrosynthetic analysis

  • Strategic disconnections

  • Synthons and synthetic equivalents

• Umpolung reactivity – formyl and acyl anion equivalents

• Selectivity in organic synthesis – chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity

• Protection and deprotection of functional groups

• Concepts of asymmetric synthesis – resolution (including enzymatic), desymmetrization and use of chiral auxiliaries

• Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions through enolates (including boron enolates), enamines and silyl enol ethers.

• Michael addition reaction

• Stereoselective addition to C = O groups (Cram and Felkin-Anh models)

Unit 4: Pericyclic Reactions and Photochemistry

• Electrocyclic, cycloaddition and sigmatropic reactions
• Orbital correlations - FMO and PMO treatments
• Photochemistry of alkenes, arenes and carbonyl compounds
• Photooxidation and photoreduction
• Di-π-methane rearrangement, Barton reaction

Unit 5: Heterocyclic Compounds

• Structure
• Preparation
• Properties and reactions of furan
• Pyrrole
• Thiophene
• Pyridine
• Indole
• Quinolone
• Isoquinoline

Unit 6: Biomolecules

• Structure
• Properties and reactions of mono- and di-saccharides
• Physicochemical properties of amino acids
• Chemical synthesis of peptides
• Structural features of proteins
• Nucleic acids
• Steroids
• Terpenoids
• Carotenoids
• Alkaloids

Unit 7: Spectroscopy

• Applications of UV-visible, IR, NMR and Mass spectrometry in the structural determination of organic molecules

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