CHIM0604-2 : Chemistry and organic materials

Study Programmes 2016-2017

CHIM0604-2

Chemistry and organic materials

Duration :

30h Th, 15h Pr, 5d Labo.

Number of credits :

Bachelor in engineering		5
Master in biomedical engineering (120 ECTS)		5
Master in chemical and materials engineering (120 ECTS)		5
Master in chemical and materials engineering (120 ECTS)		4

Lecturer :

Lionel Delaude

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents :

This course aims at introducing the fundamentals of organic chemistry to students and to help them realize its importance in our everyday life.
After a brief recall of the atomic structure and the nature of chemical bonds, the major classes of organic compounds (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, alkyl halides, aromatics, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids and their derivatives, amines) will be examined in terms of nomenclature, molecular structure, electronic features, and reactivity. From these core notions, the main types of organic reactions and their underlying rationales will be discussed. A special attention will be devoted to stereochemical aspects of the transformations under study.
To illustrate this course, we shall perform experimental demonstrations to explain the role of organic compounds and materials in multiple objects from our everyday life (alcohol breath testers, soaps and detergents, plastic wrapping, epoxy glues,...).
Sessions of practical laboratory work will be organized to illustrate the key-notions of the course and to acquaint students with the basic techniques of synthesis, purification and characterization of organic compounds.
More specifically, experimental work will be devoted, on one hand, to the main techniques used to isolate and purify organic compounds and, on the other hand, to the synthesis of diverse organic products and their characterization through various analytical techniques, such as melting point determination, thin layer chromatography, or spectroscopic methods.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit :

At the end of this course, students should be able:

to identify and to name the main functions of organic chemistry,
to predict the evolution of various physico-chemical properties of organic compounds according to their structures,
to determine the outcome of the main organic reactions and to propose a plausible mechanism for them,
to propose (a) suitable reagent(s) for achieving a given organic transformation.

At the end of the practical laboratory sessions, students will be acquainted with the common basic techniques used in organic chemistry. They will be able to analyze and to perform simple experimental procedures reported in the literature, to carry out the synthesis, characterization, and quantification of organic compounds, and to assess the significance of the results obtained.
In addition, laboratory sessions in small groups will help the students to develop more general skills, such as team working, problem solving, finding information in the technical literature, critically analyzing experimental data, improving their oral and writing skills, etc.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills :

The prerequisite for this course implies a good knowledge of basic general chemistry, as it is taught, for instance, in the chemistry course intended for the first block of the bachelor in Engineering Sciences, civil engineer orientation (CHIM9272 and CHIM9273).
In particular, notions relatives to structure and matter, chemical reactions, and chemical equilibria should be mastered even if, during this course, these fundamental concepts and the relevant chemical vocabulary will be briefly recalled every time they are needed.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

Twelve lessons of 150 minutes each will be given during the second quadrimester. Exercise sessions (15 h) and practical laboratory work (5 d) will complement and illustrate the theoretical course.
Participation in practical work is mandatory. Any absence must be justified by a medical certificate or another appropriate document. For security reasons, access to the laboratory is allowed only to students in possession of a lab coat and a pair of goggles.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Face-to-face course, see above for details.