Analytical Chemistry

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Select the appropriate analytical methods to evaluate a sample.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Explain the principles of a range of analytical techniques including IR, NMR, and Raman spectroscopies and mass spectrometry.
• Describe the principles and selection of sample preparation methods including preparation of standard solutions, liquid and solid phase extraction, and chromatographic separations.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Select, use, and evaluate data sets using appropriate statistical methods.
• Interpret and evaluate data from a variety of analytical chemistry techniques

Introduction – setting analytical chemistry in context

Introduction to analytical methods and statistics, precision and accuracy, standard deviation, error treatment, least squares, limits of detection and quantification.

Sample preparation and chemical separations – partitioning between phases, liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, chromatographic separations (TLC, HPLC, and GC), plate theory, and detectors.

Mass spectrometry and coupling these to chromatographic techniques – introduction to mass spectrometry, ionisation, high- and low- resolution modes, precise molecular weights, resolution and isotopes, instrumentation.

Spectroscopic techniques for chemical identification – IR, Raman, and NMR. Instrumentation, data collection, and interpretation in an analytical chemistry context.

Case studies – examples from research and industrial laboratories.

Lectures, problem-solving workshops, and online exercises.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.