Graduate
  1. Physical Chemistry  1.1. Thermodynamics  1.1.1. Laws of Thermodynamics  1.1.2. Enthalpy and heat capacity  1.1.3. Entropy and free energy  1.1.4. Phase Equilibrium  1.1.5. Statistical thermodynamics  1.1.6. Thermodynamic cycle  1.1.7. Fugacity and activity  1.2. Quantum Chemistry  1.2.1. Principles of quantum mechanics  1.2.2. Schrödinger Equation  1.2.3. Particle in a box  1.2.4. Operators and eigenvalues  1.2.5. Atomic orbitals  1.2.6. Molecular orbital theory  1.2.7. Perturbation theory  1.2.8. Valence bond theory  1.2.9. Hybridization and chemical bonding  1.3. Chemical kinetics  1.3.1. Rate laws and reaction mechanisms  1.3.2. Collision theory  1.3.3. Transition state theory  1.3.4. Enzyme Kinetics  1.3.5. Chain Reactions and Polymerization  1.3.6. Photochemical reactions  1.4. Statistical mechanics  1.4.1. Partitioning functions  1.4.2. Molecular distribution functions  1.4.3. Boltzmann Distribution  1.4.4. Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac statistics  1.5. Spectroscopy  1.5.1. Rotational Spectroscopy  1.5.2. Vibrational Spectroscopy  1.5.3. Electronic Spectroscopy  1.5.4. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy  1.5.5. Mass Spectrometry  1.5.6. Raman Spectroscopy  1.5.7. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy  1.6. Surface and colloidal chemistry  1.6.1. Absorption isotherm  1.6.2. Surface tension and wetting  1.6.3. Colloidal Stability  1.6.4. Catalysis  1.6.5. Emulsions and micelles  1.7. Electrochemistry  1.7.1. Nernst equation  1.7.2. Electrochemical cells  1.7.3. Conductivity and mobility  1.7.4. War  1.7.5. Fuel cells  1.7.6. Electrolysis
  2. Organic chemistry  2.1. Reaction mechanism  2.1.1. Nucleophilic substitution reactions  2.1.2. Electrophilic addition reactions  2.1.3. Elimination reactions  2.1.4. Rearrangement reactions  2.1.5. Radical reactions  2.1.6. Pericyclic reactions  2.2. Spectroscopy and structural determination  2.2.1. UV-Vis Spectroscopy  2.2.2. IR Spectroscopy  2.2.3. NMR Spectroscopy  2.2.4. Mass Spectrometry  2.2.5. X-ray crystallography  2.3. Stereoscopic  2.3.1. Chirality and optical activity  2.3.2. Structural analysis  2.3.3. Geometrical isomerism  2.3.4. Dynamic Stereochemistry  2.4. Organometallic Chemistry  2.4.1. Organolithium and organomagnesium reagents  2.4.2. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions  2.4.3. Transition Metal Complexes  2.4.4. Metal–carbon bond  2.5. Polymer chemistry  2.5.1. Polymerization mechanism  2.5.2. Polymer Characteristics  2.5.3. Biodegradable Polymer  2.5.4. Conducting polymer  2.5.5. Supramolecular polymers  2.6. Medicinal chemistry  2.6.1. Drug design and development  2.6.2. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics  2.6.3. Structure-activity relationships  2.6.4. Molecular docking and drug screening
  3. Inorganic chemistry  3.1. Coordination chemistry  3.1.1. Crystal field theory  3.1.2. Ligand field theory  3.1.3. Spectrochemical Series  3.1.4. Chelation and stability  3.2. Organometallic Chemistry  3.2.1. Metal Carbonyls  3.2.2. Catalysis by organometallic complexes  3.2.3. Metallocenes  3.3. Bio-inorganic chemistry  3.3.1. Metalloproteins and enzymes  3.3.2. The role of metals in biological systems  3.3.3. Metal ion transport and storage  3.4. Solid state chemistry  3.4.1. Crystal Structures  3.4.2. Band theory of solids  3.4.3. Superconductors  3.4.4. Defects in the crystal  3.5. Lanthanides and Actinides  3.5.1. Electronic configuration in lanthanides and actinides  3.5.2. Coordination chemistry of the lanthanides  3.5.3. Magnetic Properties of Lanthanides
  4. Analytical chemistry  4.1. Chromatography  4.1.1. Gas Chromatography  4.1.2. High Performance Liquid Chromatography  4.1.3. Thin Layer Chromatography  4.2. Spectroscopic Techniques  4.2.1. Atomic absorption spectroscopy  4.2.2. X-ray diffraction  4.2.3. Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy  4.3. Electroanalytical methods  4.3.1. Potentiometry  4.3.2. Voltammetry  4.3.3. Colometry  4.4. Mass Spectrometry  4.4.1. Ionization Technique  4.4.2. Fragmentation Pattern  4.5. Chemometrics  4.5.1. Multidisciplinary analysis  4.5.2. Machine Learning in Chemistry
  5. Theoretical and Computational Chemistry  5.1. Molecular dynamics simulation  5.1.1. Force fields and energy minimization  5.1.2. Monte Carlo simulation in molecular dynamics simulations  5.2. Quantum chemical methods  5.2.1. Hartree–Fock theory  5.2.2. Density functional theory  5.2.3. Semi-empirical methods  5.3. Computational drug design  5.3.1. Molecular Docking  5.3.2. QSAR Modeling  5.3.3. Virtual Screening
  6. Biochemistry  6.1. Enzyme Kinetics  6.1.1. Michaelis-Menten kinetics  6.1.2. Inhibition mechanism  6.2. Metabolism and Bioenergetics  6.2.1. Glycolysis  6.2.2. Citric acid cycle  6.2.3. Electron transport chain  6.3. molecular Biology  6.3.1. DNA replication and repair  6.3.2. Protein synthesis  6.3.3. Gene Regulation  6.4. Structural Biochemistry  6.4.1. Protein Folding  6.4.2. Membrane Biophysics
  7. Environmental Chemistry  7.1. Atmospheric Chemistry  7.1.1. Greenhouse gases  7.1.2. Ozone depletion  7.1.3. Air pollutants and smoke  7.2. Water Chemistry  7.2.1. pH and water hardness  7.2.2. Wastewater treatment  7.2.3. Aquatic Chemistry  7.3. Soil Chemistry  7.3.1. Heavy metal contamination  7.3.2. Soil pH and Buffering  7.3.3. Nutrient cycling  7.4. Toxicology and Chemical Safety  7.4.1. Toxicokinetics  7.4.2. Risk Assessment in Toxicology and Chemical Safety in Environmental Chemistry  7.4.3. Effects of pollutants on the environment

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Inorganic chemistry


Inorganic chemistry is a branch of chemistry that deals with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field of chemistry covers a wide range of substances, including metals, minerals, and organometallic compounds. Unlike organic chemistry, where compounds contain carbon and hydrogen, inorganic chemistry explores a broad spectrum of elements and provides information about elements from almost every classification of the periodic table.

What are inorganic compounds?

Inorganic compounds are often those that do not contain a carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bond. Although this is a broad generalization, it helps to distinguish between the main focuses of organic vs. inorganic chemistry. Examples of inorganic compounds include:

H₂O (water)
NaCl (sodium chloride)
Fe₂O₃ (iron oxide)
NH₃ (ammonia)

Key concepts in inorganic chemistry

Periodic table

The periodic table is a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements, arranged based on their atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. The elements in the periodic table are grouped into periods (rows) and groups (columns). Inorganic chemistry makes extensive use of the periodic table to predict how different elements will react with each other.

Let's consider the trends across groups and periods:

  • Group: Elements in the same group have similar chemical properties and show similar trends in electronegativities, atomic size and ionization energy.
  • Period: Elements in a period show progressive changes in properties like metallic character, atomic size and electron affinity.

Example of trend: Atomic radius

The atomic radius is defined as the size of an atom, usually measured from the nucleus to the outermost electron shell. As you move down a group in the periodic table, the atomic radius increases due to the additional electron shell. Conversely, as you move across a period from left to right, the atomic radius decreases because of the increase in the effective nuclear charge that pulls the electrons closer to the nucleus.

Took Happen B C N Decrease in atomic radius across a period

Covalent and ionic bonds

Inorganic chemistry studies many types of chemical bonds, but the two most important types are covalent and ionic bonds.

  • Covalent bonds: These are formed when two atoms share one or more electron pairs. For example, in a molecule of water H₂O, oxygen and hydrogen are held together by covalent bonds where electrons are shared between atoms.
  • Ionic bond: Ionic bonding occurs when one atom donates electrons to another atom, forming ions. Consider NaCl (sodium chloride), a common example where sodium (Na) donates electrons to chlorine (Cl), forming Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions.
No Chlorine

Coordination chemistry

Coordination chemistry focuses on compounds with complex structures known as coordination complexes. These consist of a central atom or ion (usually a metal) surrounded by molecules or ions called ligands. These can vary widely in structure, size, and charge.

Example: Coordination complex of Co(NH₃)₆³⁺

In this coordination complex, cobalt (Co) is the central metal atom, surrounded by six ammonia (NH₃) ligands. This complex has a charge of 3⁺ due to the oxidation state of the central metal. Learning the structures, naming conventions, and rules associated with coordination compounds is an important part of inorganic chemistry.

Associate NH₃ NH₃ NH₃ NH₃

Acid-base chemistry

Acid-base chemistry is another essential part of inorganic chemistry, which is also often included under general chemistry. The Bronsted-Lowry theory is often applied, where an acid is a proton donor and a base is a proton acceptor. Major inorganic acids include hydrochloric acid HCl, sulfuric acid H₂SO₄, and nitric acid HNO₃.

Example: Reaction of HCl with NaOH

A simple example is the neutralization of hydrochloric acid by sodium hydroxide:

HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H₂O

Here, HCl donates a proton (H⁺) to OH⁻ from NaOH, resulting in the formation of water and sodium chloride. Understanding such reactions is important for understanding the role of acids and bases in chemistry and industry.

Redox reactions

Redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons between two species. Oxidation involves the loss of electrons, while reduction involves the gain of electrons. Inorganic chemistry investigates these reactions extensively.

Example: Oxidation of iron

Rusting of iron is a classic example of a redox reaction:

4Fe + 3O₂ → 2Fe₂O₃

In this reaction, iron (Fe) undergoes oxidation, losing electrons to oxygen, resulting in the formation of iron oxide, known as rust.

Transition metal

The transition metals found in the d-block of the periodic table play an important role in inorganic chemistry. They are known for their ability to form variable oxidation states and act as catalysts in reactions. Common properties include malleability, high melting points, and the formation of colorful compounds.

Example with chromium

Chromium exhibits a variety of oxidation states, but the most stable and commonly found is Cr3⁺. In its different states, chromium can exhibit different colors such as green or orange depending on the compound it forms, emphasizing its versatile chemistry.

Cr⁶⁺ Cr³⁺ Chromium oxidation states

Industrial applications of inorganic chemistry

Inorganic chemistry serves as the backbone for many industrial processes. For example, ammonia synthesis via the Haber process, which is used extensively for fertilizer manufacture, relies on the catalytic conversion of nitrogen and hydrogen:

N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃

This is a fundamental industrial reaction that has a global impact on agriculture by increasing crop yields.

Another important application is the production of sulfuric acid through the contact process, which is a key stage in the manufacture of many chemicals.

Example: Contact process

The contact process involves the catalytic oxidation of sulfur dioxide gas:

2SO₂ + O₂ ⇌ 2SO₃

The sulfur trioxide produced is used to make sulfuric acid, one of the most important industrially important chemicals.

Conclusion

Inorganic chemistry is a vast and important field of study that helps us understand the world. Its principles apply to many applications in various scientific and engineering disciplines. From understanding basic concepts such as bonding and molecular geometry to understanding their applications such as catalysis and industrial processes, inorganic chemistry provides deep insights into the physical world.


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Inorganic chemistry

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