Inorganic Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry

• Branch of chemistry that deals with the study of inorganic compounds, which are typically derived from mineral sources
• Inorganic compounds are typically considered to be any compound that is not an organic compound, which means they do not contain carbon-hydrogen bonds
• Subfields of inorganic chemistry:
  • Main group chemistry: deals with the chemistry of main group elements (groups 1-12 of the periodic table)
  • Transition metal chemistry: deals with the chemistry of transition metals (d-block elements)
  • Lanthanide and actinide chemistry: deals with the chemistry of lanthanide and actinide elements (bottom left of the periodic table)
• Important inorganic compounds:
  • Acid-base chemistry: deals with the reaction of acids and bases to form salts and water
  • Coordination compounds: complexes formed between a central metal atom and surrounding ligands
  • Oxides: compounds containing oxygen, often used in catalysis and materials science

Physical Chemistry

• Branch of chemistry that deals with the physical principles underlying chemical reactions and processes
• Focuses on the application of physical laws and concepts to understand chemical systems
• Subfields of physical chemistry:
  • Thermodynamics: deals with the relationships between heat, work, and energy
  • Kinetics: deals with the rates of chemical reactions
  • Quantum mechanics: deals with the behavior of atoms and molecules at the atomic and subatomic level
  • Spectroscopy: deals with the interaction of matter with electromagnetic radiation
• Important physical chemistry concepts:
  • Energy: the ability to do work, measured in units such as joules (J) or kilojoules (kJ)
  • Entropy: a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system
  • Equilibrium: a state in which the rates of forward and reverse reactions are equal
  • Catalysis: the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction using a catalyst

Inorganic Chemistry

• Deals with the study of inorganic compounds derived from mineral sources
• Inorganic compounds lack carbon-hydrogen bonds
• Subfields include:
  • Main group chemistry (groups 1-12 of the periodic table)
  • Transition metal chemistry (d-block elements)
  • Lanthanide and actinide chemistry (bottom left of the periodic table)
• Important inorganic compounds include:
  • Acid-base chemistry (acids and bases react to form salts and water)
  • Coordination compounds (complexes formed between a central metal atom and ligands)
  • Oxides (compounds containing oxygen, used in catalysis and materials science)

Physical Chemistry

• Deals with the physical principles underlying chemical reactions and processes
• Focuses on applying physical laws and concepts to understand chemical systems
• Subfields include:
  • Thermodynamics (heat, work, and energy relationships)
  • Kinetics (rates of chemical reactions)
  • Quantum mechanics (atomic and subatomic behavior)
  • Spectroscopy (matter's interaction with electromagnetic radiation)
• Important physical chemistry concepts include:
  • Energy (ability to do work, measured in joules or kilojoules)
  • Entropy (measure of disorder or randomness)
  • Equilibrium (state where forward and reverse reaction rates are equal)
  • Catalysis (increasing reaction rates using a catalyst)

Study of inorganic compounds, excluding organic compounds with carbon-hydrogen bonds. Subfields include main group chemistry and transition metal chemistry.