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UTokyoX: UTokyo003x Quantum Mechanics of Molecular Structures

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

  • explain two major methods to determine the geometrical structure of molecules in the gas phase: molecular spectroscopy and gas electron diffraction.
  • quantize various motions of molecules, derive the quantized energy levels, and determine the geometrical structure of molecules from the spectrum.
  • identify the fundamental mechanism of electron scattering on the basis of quantum mechanics and determine the geometrical structure of molecules from gas electron diffraction images.

Weekly Topics 

Week 1: Absorption and Emission of Light by Molecules    *(mm:ss) indicates the time for video lectures.

  1. Origin of Colors (5:25)
  2. Color of Light, Energy of Light (5:53)
  3. Conjugation and Absorption (5:36)
  4. A Particle in a Box (9:00)
  5. Example: Carotene (5:29)
  6. A Particle on a Ring (9:30)
  7. Indicators (4:37)
  8. Emission of Light (5:08)

Week 2: Molecular Vibration

  1. Absorption of Infrared Light (6:10)
  2. Quantum Formulation of Molecular Vibration (5:20)
  3. Examples of Molecular Vibration (5:50)
  4. Anharmonicity (4:03)
  5. Normal Modes in 1D (3:14)
  6. Normal Modes in 3D (4:20)
  7. Inversion and Puckering (15:17)
  8. Electronic, Vibration and Rotation Excitation (3:36)

Week 3: Molecular Rotation

    1. Emission of Microwaves (5:21)
    2. Quantum Formulation of Molecular Rotation (5:23)
    3. Example of Molecular Rotation (3:59)
    4. Isotope Substitution (2:56)
    5. Angular Momentum (4:27)
    6. Classification of Molecules (3:40)
    7. Energy Diagram for Molecular Rotation (6:09)
    8. Vibration-Rotation Transition (8:10)

Week 4: Electron Diffraction

    1. Overview of Electron Diffraction (5:06)
    2. Electron Scattering from Single Atom (4:40)
    3. Electron Scattering from Diatomic Molecules (3:54)
    4. Effect of Molecular Vibration (3:02)
    5. Phase Shift (3:11)
    6. Electron Scattering from Polyatomic Molecules (5:44)
    7. Determination of Molecular Structures (5:24)
    8. Quantum Mechanics of Molecular Structures (1:39) 

Books for Reference

For those who would like to study further, the following textbook is recommended for reference.

Yamanouchi, K.; Quantum Mechanics of Molecular Structures; Springer-Verlag: Heidelberg, 2012.

Textbook

Course Staff

Kaoru Yamanouchi

Professor, Department of Chemistry, School of Science
The University of Tokyo

Professor Kaoru Yamanouchi has been Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tokyo since April 1997. His research fields are in physical chemistry; especially, gas phase laser spectroscopy, chemical reaction dynamics, and intense laser science. He is one of the world-leading scientists in the new interdisciplinary research field called ultrafast intense laser science. He has been the recipient of Morino Fellowship endowed by Morino Foundation (1987), Spectroscopical Society of Japan Award for High-Quality Papers (1989), Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Scientists (1991), Japan IBM Prize (2000), The Best Paper Award of the Laser Society of Japan (2008), and Chemical Society of Japan Award (2015).

Erik Lötstedt

Teaching Assistant
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, School of Science
The University of Tokyo

Erik Lötstedt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo. He obtained his PhD degree from Heidelberg University. His field of research is the theoretical simulation of atoms and molecules in intense laser fields.