BPS3042 Advanced experimental spectroscopy

This unit will develop advanced concepts in spectroscopy and introduce experimental approaches to the characterisation and qualitative analysis of chemical samples. A key focus of the unit is using spectroscopic data to establish the chemical identity of a compound. The initial focus will be on using multiple techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and infra-red spectroscopy to determine the chemical structure of a compound. More detailed analyses of the NMR data will be used to determine physical properties of the compounds including solubility in different solvents and aggregation status. Subsequently, a range of advanced experimental approaches for analysis of more complex samples will be introduced. The theoretical basis of multi-dimensional NMR spectroscopy will be covered from a conceptual perspective. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of data from the more common two-dimensional homonuclear and heteronuclear experiments. Through analysis of experimental data students will develop practical skills in the design of experiments for structural elucidation. The unit will focus on the analysis of small organic compounds and peptides.