TP Inorganic Chemistry

Practical Work in Inorganic and Solid State Chemistry provides an introduction to crystallographic description and various methods for synthesizing and characterizing inorganic solids. They take place over six rotating four-hour sessions, in groups of quarter classes. Students, supervised by two teachers and one technical staff, are divided into three groups. A report is requested at the end of each session, either individually or by trio. The teaching objectives of this Inorganic Chemistry Practical Work are as follows:

Describe and identify simple crystalline structures, in terms of space group and asymmetric unit, in terms of stacking and occupied sites, and in terms of coordination polyhedra
Use crystallographic databases (international crystallography tables, crystal structure resources):
Apply X-ray diffraction to determine the structure of a crystal
Select and apply material characterization methods, interpret and discuss the results obtained.

First-year Inorganic and Solid Chemistry courses: Inorganic Chemistry, Structure of Solids, Properties of Solids.

The six proposed manipulations are:
- ABC stacking and derived structures
- AB stacking and derived structures
- Structural determination of nickel oxide NiO by X-ray diffraction
- Two thermal analysis methods: Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA)
- Atomic absorption determination of copper in aluminum alloys
- The semiconductor ZnO: synthesis by spray pyrolysis and electronic structure.

Inorganic Chemistry and Materials theme

First-year courses in Inorganic and Solid Chemistry.
Inorganic Chemistry, A. Casalot and J. Durupthy, Hachette: early 2nd cycle level.
Introduction à la cristallographie et à la chimie structurale, M. Van Meerssche and J. Feneau-Dupont, Peeters, 1984: more complete.