Physical Organic Chemistry-CH 435/531

Instructor: Kevin Shaughnessy
Office: 232 Shelby Hall
Phone: 8-4435
Email:
Office Hours: Please feel free to contact me via email to set up an appoinment.

Welcome to the CH 435/531 web site. This web site will serve as a repository for all information related to the class this semester. I encourage you to check back regularly for class announcements, class materials, and study resources.

Physical organic chemistry is the application of physical chemistry methods to organic chemistry. The main focuses of this discipline are to develop an understanding of the structure and reactivity of organic molecules and to describe the mechanisms by which organic reactions occur. During the semester we will discuss the structure and bonding of organic molecules using modern molecular orbital theory, thermodynamics and kinetics of organic reactions, and organic reaction mechanisms including the tools that can be used in their elucidation. These concepts are broadly applicable in chemistry as well as related fields, such as biochemistry and molecular biology.

The prerequisites for this course are a two semester organic chemistry sequence and a two semester physical chemistry sequence. A solid background in organic chemistry will be particularly important, so you may find it useful to review materials from your sophomore organic chemistry course.

The text for this course is Modern Physical Organic Chemistry by Eric V. Anslyn and Dennis A. Dougherty. It is available from the SupeStore and other campus bookstores. You may also want to consider purchasing this book online: University Science Publishers | Froogle.com | Amazon.com. In addition there is a study guide for this book that can be purchased on line.

Page prepared by Dr. Kevin Shaughnessy
Associate Professor
The University of Alabama 

These pages may be downloaded and linked freely from other pages. The author reserves all rights to the material contained herein. Questions, problems, or errors should be sent to