KJM4310 – Physical Chemistry III - Statistical Thermodynamics for Chemistry

Course content

The course provides a thorough introduction to statistical thermodynamics and its applications in chemistry, biochemistry and materials science. By deriving and discussing Boltzmann’s distribution law, the course will lead to the discovery of how the microscopic behavior determines the macroscopic properties of a system. The course will take concepts such as entropy, enthalpy and free energy from classical thermodynamics, this time deriving them starting from the microscopic states of the system and from the molecular interactions that govern them. We will use this to provide general insight and shed light on issues within a broad range of disciplines such as materials chemistry, biochemistry, polymer chemistry, solution chemistry and atmospheric chemistry. Important topics that will be covered will be molecular interactions, chemical kinetics, molecular transport and diffusion, cooperativity and phase transitions, protein folding, self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules, membrane and micelle formation and properties of macromolecules.