GATE 2016 Solid Mechanics (XE-D) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Equivalent force systems; free-body diagrams; equilibrium equations; analysis of determinate trusses and frames; friction; particle kinematics and dynamics; dynamics of rigid bodies under planar motion; law of conservation of energy; law of conservation of momentum.

Stresses and strains; principal stresses and strains; Mohr’s circle for plane stress and plane strain; generalized Hooke’s Law; elastic constants; thermal stresses; theories of failure.

Axial, shear and bending moment diagrams; axial, shear and bending stresses; combined stresses; deflection (for symmetric bending); torsion in circular shafts; thin walled pressure vessels; energy methods (Castigliano’s Theorems); Euler buckling.

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Free vibration of single degree of freedom systems.

GATE 2016 Materials Science (XE-C) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Processing of Materials

Powder synthesis, sintering, chemical methods, crystal growth techniques, zone refining, preparation of nanoparticles and thin films

Section 2: Characterisation Techniques

X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic techniques like UV-vis, IR, Raman. Optical and Electron microscopy

Section 3: Structure and Imperfections

Crystal symmetry, point groups, space groups, indices of planes, close packing in solids, bonding in materials, coordination and radius ratio concepts, point defects, dislocations, grain boundaries, surface energy and equilibrium shapes of crystals

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Section 4: Thermodynamics and Kinetics

Phase rule, phase diagrams, solid solutions, invariant reactions, lever rule, basic heat treatment of metals, solidification and phase transformations, Fick’s laws of diffusion, mechanisms of diffusion, temperature dependence of diffusivity

Section 5: Properties of Materials

Mechanical Properties: Stress-strain response of metallic, ceramic and polymer materials, yield strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, toughness, plastic deformation, fatigue, creep and fracture Electronic Properties:Free electron theory, Fermi energy, density of states, elements of band theory, semiconductors, Hall effect, dielectric behaviour, piezo, ferro, pyroelectricmaterials Magnetic Properties: Origin of magnetism in metallic and ceramic materials, paramagnetism, diamagnetism, ferro and ferrimagnetism Thermal Properties: Specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal expansion, thermoelectricity Optical Properties: Refractive index, absorption and transmission of electromagnetic radiation in solids, electrooptic and magnetoopticmaterials, spontaneous and stimulated emission, gas and solid state lasers

Section 6: Material types

Concept of amorphous, single crystals and polycrystalline materials, crystallinity and its effect on physical properties, metal, ceramic, polymers, classification of polymers, polymerization, structure and properties, additives for polymer products, processing and applications, effect of environment on materials, composites

Section 7: Environmental Degradation

Corrosion, oxidation and prevention

Section 8: Elements of Quantum Mechanics and Mathematics

Basics of quantum mechanics, quantum mechanical treatment of electrical, optical and thermal properties of materials, analytical solid geometry, differentiation and integration, differential equations, vectors and tensors, matrices, Fourier series, complex analysis, probability and statistics

GATE 2016 Fluid Mechanics (XE-B) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Flow and Fluid Properties

viscosity, relationship between stress and strain-rate for Newtonian fluids, incompressible and compressible flows, differences between laminar and turbulent flows. Hydrostatics: Buoyancy, manometry, forces on submerged bodies.

Section 2: Kinematics

Eulerian and Lagrangian description of fluids motion, concept of local and convective accelerations, steady and unsteady flows.

Section 3: Integral analysis

Control volume analysis for mass, momentum and energy.

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Section 4: Differential Analysis

Differential equations of mass and momentum for incompressible flows: inviscid - Euler equation and viscous flows - Navier-Stokes equations, concept of fluid rotation, vorticity, stream function, Exact solutions of Navier-Stokes equation for Couette Flow and Poiseuille flow.

Section 5: Inviscid flows

Bernoulli’s equation - assumptions and applications, potential function, Elementary plane flows - uniform flow, source, sink and doublet and their superposition for potential flow past simple geometries.

Section 6: Dimensional analysis

Concept of geometric, kinematic and dynamic similarity, some common non-dimensional parameters and their physical significance: Reynolds number, Froude number and Mach number.

Section 7: Internal flows

Fully developed pipe flow, empirical relations for laminar and turbulent flows: friction factor and Darcy-Weisbach relation.

Section 8: Prandtl boundary layer equations

Concept and assumptions, qualitative idea of boundary layer and separation, streamlined and bluff bodies, drag and lift forces. Flow measurements: Basic ideas of flow measurement using venturimeter, pitot-static tube and orifice plate.

GATE 2016 Engineering Mathematics (XE-A) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Linear Algebra

Algebra of matrices; Inverse and rank of a matrix; System of linear equations; Symmetric, skew-symmetric and orthogonal matrices; Determinants; Eigenvalues and eigenvectors; Diagonalisation of matrices; Cayley-Hamilton Theorem.

Section 2: Calculus

Functions of single variable: Limit, continuity and differentiability; Mean value theorems; Indeterminate forms and L'Hospital's rule; Maxima and minima; Taylor's theorem; Fundamental theorem and mean value-theorems of integral calculus; Evaluation of definite and improper integrals; Applications of definite integrals to evaluate areas and volumes.
Functions of two variables: Limit, continuity and partial derivatives; Directional derivative; Total derivative; Tangent plane and normal line; Maxima, minima and saddle points; Method of Lagrange multipliers; Double and triple integrals, and their applications.
Sequence and series: Convergence of sequence and series; Tests for convergence; Power series; Taylor's series; Fourier Series; Half range sine and cosine series.

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Section 3: Vector Calculus

Gradient, divergence and curl; Line and surface integrals; Green's theorem, Stokes theorem and Gauss divergence theorem (without proofs).

Section 3: Complex variables

Analytic functions; Cauchy-Riemann equations; Line integral, Cauchy's integral theorem and integral formula (without proof); Taylor's series and Laurent series; Residue theorem (without proof) and its applications.

Section 4: Ordinary Differential Equations

First order equations (linear and nonlinear); Higher order linear differential equations with constant coefficients; Second order linear differential equations with variable coefficients; Method of variation of parameters; Cauchy-Euler equation; Power series solutions; Legendre polynomials, Bessel functions of the first kind and their properties.

Section 5: Partial Differential Equations

Classification of second order linear partial differential equations; Method of separation of variables; Laplace equation; Solutions of one dimensional heat and wave equations.

Section 6: Probability and Statistics

Axioms of probability; Conditional probability; Bayes' Theorem; Discrete and continuous random variables: Binomial, Poisson and normal distributions; Correlation and linear regression.

Section 7: Numerical Methods

Solution of systems of linear equations using LU decomposition, Gauss elimination and Gauss-Seidel methods; Lagrange and Newton's interpolations, Solution of polynomial and transcendental equations by Newton-Raphson method; Numerical integration by trapezoidal rule, Simpson's rule and Gaussian quadrature rule; Numerical solutions of first order differential equations by Euler's method and 4th order Runge-Kutta method.

GATE 2016 Textile Engineering and Fibre Science (TF) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS

Linear Algebra: Matrices and Determinants, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and eigen vectors.
Calculus: Limit, continuity and differentiability; Partial Derivatives; Maxima and minima; Sequences and series; Test for convergence; Fourier series.
Vector Calculus: Gradient; Divergence and Curl; Line; surface and volume integrals; Stokes, Gauss and Green’s theorems.
Differential Equations: Linear and non-linear first order ODEs; Higher order linear ODEs with constant coefficients; Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations; Laplace transforms; PDEs –Laplace, heat and wave equations. Probability and Statistics: Mean, median, mode and standard deviation; Random variables; Poisson, normal and binomial distributions; Correlation and regression analysis.
Numerical Methods: Solutions of linear and non-linear algebraic equations; integration of trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule; single and multi-step methods for differential equations.

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TEXTILE ENGINEERING AND FIBRE SCIENCE

Section 1: Textile Fibers

Classification of textile fibers; Essential requirements of fiber forming polymers; Gross and fine structure of natural fibers like cotton, wool, silk, Introduction to important bast fibres; properties and uses of natural and man- made fibres including carbon, aramid and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers; physical and chemical methods of fiber and blend identification and blend analysis. Molecular architecture, amorphous and crystalline phases, glass transition, plasticization, crystallization, melting, factors affecting Tg and Tm; Production process of viscose and other regenerated cellulosic fibres such as polynosic, lyocell. Polymerization of nylon-6, nylon-66, poly (ethylene terephthalate), polyacrylonitrile and polypropylene; Melt Spinning processes for PET, polyamide and polypropylene; Wet and dry spinning processes for viscose and acrylic fibres; post spinning operations such as drawing, heat setting, tow- to-top conversion and different texturing methods. Methods of investigating fibre structure e.g., Density, X-ray diffraction, birefringence, optical and electron microscopy, I.R. spectroscopy, thermal methods (DSC, DMA/TMA, TGA); structure and morphology of man-made fibres, mechanical properties of fibres, moisture sorption in fibres; fibre structure and property correlation.

Section 2: Yarn manufacture, Yarn structure and Properties

Principles of opening, cleaning and mixing/blending of fibrous materials, working principle of modern opening and cleaning equipment; the technology of carding, carding of cotton and synthetic fibres; Drafting operation, roller and apron drafting principle, causes of mass irregularity introduced by drafting; roller arrangements in drafting systems; principles of cotton combing, combing cycle, mechanism and function, combing efficiency, lap preparation; recent developments in comber; Roving production, mechanism of bobbin building, roving twist; Principle of ring spinning, forces acting on yarn and traveler, ring & traveler designs, mechanism of cop formation, causes of end breakages; Working principle of ring doubler and two for one twister, single and folded yarn twist, properties of double yarns, production of core spun yarn; Principles of compact, rotor, air jet, air vortex, core, wrap, twist less and friction spinning. Yarn contraction, yarn diameter, specific volume & packing coefficient; Twist factor, twist strength relationship in spun yarns; Fibre configuration and orientation in yarn; Cause of fibre migration and its estimation; Irregularity index; Structure property relationship of compact ring, rotor, air-jet and friction spun yarns.

Section 3: Fabric manufacture, Structure and Properties

Principles of winding processes and machines, random, precision and step precision winding, package faults and their remedies; Yarn clearers and tensioners; Different systems of yarn splicing; Features of modern cone winding machines; Different types of warping creels; features of modern beam and sectional warping machines; Different sizing systems, sizing of spun and filament yarns, sizing machines; Principles of pirn winding processes and machines. Primary and secondary motions of loom, cam design & kinematics of sley, effect of their settings and timings on fabric formation, fabric appearance and weaving performance; Dobby and jacquard shedding; Mechanics of weft insertion with shuttle, warp and weft stop motions, warp protection, weft replenishment; Principles of weft insertion systems of shuttle-less weaving machines; Principles of multiphase and circular looms. Principles of weft and warp knitting, basic weft and warp knitted structures; Classification, production, properties and application of nonwoven fabrics, principle of web formation & bonding. Basic woven fabric constructions and their derivatives; crepe, cord, terry, gauze, leno and double cloth constructions. Peirce’s equations for fabric geometry; elastica model of plain woven fabrics; thickness, cover and maximum set of woven fabrics.

Section 4: Textile Testing

Sampling techniques, sample size and sampling errors; Measurement of fibre length, fineness, crimp; measurement of cotton fiber maturity and trash content; High volume fibre testing; Measurement of yarn count, twist and hairiness; Tensile testing of fibers, yarns and fabrics; Evenness testing of slivers, rovings and yarns; Classimat fault analysis; Testing equipment for measurement of fabric properties like thickness, compressibility, air permeability, wetting & wicking, drape, crease recovery, tear strength, bursting strength and abrasion resistance; Instruments and systems for objective evaluation of fabric hand. Statistical analysis of experimental results, frequency distributions, correlation, significance tests, analysis of variance and control charts.

Section 5: Chemical processing

Impurities in natural fibre; Chemistry and practice of preparatory processes for cotton, wool and silk; Mercerization of cotton; Preparatory processes for manmade fibres and their blends. Classification of dyes; Dyeing of cotton, wool, silk, polyester, nylon and acrylic with appropriate dye classes; Dyeing of polyester/cotton and polyester/wool blends; Dyeing machines; Dyeing of cotton knitted fabrics and machines used; Dye fibre interaction; Introduction to thermodynamics and kinetics of dyeing; Methods for determination of wash, light and rubbing fastness. Styles of printing; Printing thickeners including synthetic thickeners; Printing auxiliaries; Printing of cotton with reactive dyes, wool, silk, nylon with acid and metal complex dyes, Printing of polyester with disperse dyes; Pigment printing; Resist and discharge printing of cotton, silk and polyester; Transfer printing of polyester; Inkjet printing. Mechanical finishing of cotton. Stiff, soft, wrinkle resistant, water repellent, flame retardant and enzyme (bio-polishing) finishing of cotton; Milling, decatizing and shrink resistant finishing of wool; Antistatic and soil release finishing; Heat setting of synthetic fabrics; Minimum application techniques; Pollution control and treatment of effluents.

GATE 2016 Biotechnology (BT) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Engineering Mathematics

Linear Algebra: Matrices and determinants, Systems of linear equations, Eigen values and Eigen vectors.
Calculus: Limit, continuity and differentiability, Partial derivatives, Maxima and minima, Sequences and series, Test for convergence, Fourier Series.
Differential Equations: Linear and nonlinear first order ODEs, higher order ODEs with constant coefficients, Cauchy’s and Euler’s equations, Laplace transforms, PDE-Laplace, heat and wave equations.
Probability and Statistics: Mean, median, mode and standard deviation, Random variables, Poisson, normal and binomial distributions, Correlation and regression analysis.
Numerical Methods: Solution of linear and nonlinear algebraic equations, Integration of trapezoidal and Simpson’s rule, Single and multistep methods for differential equations.

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Section 2: General Biotechnology

Biochemistry: Biomolecules-structure and functions; Biological membranes, structure, action potential and transport processes; Enzymes- classification, kinetics and mechanism of action; Basic concepts and designs of metabolism (carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids) photosynthesis, respiration and electron transport chain; Bioenergetics
Microbiology: Viruses- structure and classification; Microbial classification and diversity(bacterial, algal and fungal); Methods in microbiology; Microbial growth and nutrition; Aerobic and anaerobic respiration; Nitrogen fixation; Microbial diseases and host-pathogen interaction
Cell Biology: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structure; Cell cycle and cell growth control; Cell-Cell communication, Cell signaling and signal transduction
Molecular Biology and Genetics: Molecular structure of genes and chromosomes; Mutations and mutagenesis; Nucleic acid replication, transcription, translation and their regulatory mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; Mendelian inheritance; Gene interaction; Complementation; Linkage, recombination and chromosome mapping; Extra chromosomal inheritance; Microbial genetics (plasmids, transformation, transduction, conjugation); Horizontal gene transfer and Transposable elements; RNA interference; DNA damage and repair; Chromosomal variation; Molecular basis of genetic diseases
Analytical Techniques: Principles of microscopy-light, electron, fluorescent and confocal; Centrifugation- high speed and ultra; Principles of spectroscopy-UV, visible, CD, IR, FTIR, Raman, MS,NMR; Principles of chromatography- ion exchange, gel filtration, hydrophobic interaction, affinity, GC,HPLC, FPLC; Electrophoresis; Microarray
Immunology: History of Immunology; Innate, humoral and cell mediated immunity; Antigen; Antibody structure and function; Molecular basis of antibody diversity; Synthesis of antibody and secretion; Antigen-antibody reaction; Complement; Primary and secondary lymphoid organ; B and T cells and macrophages; Major histocompatibility complex (MHC); Antigen processing and presentation; Polyclonal and monoclonal antibody; Regulation of immune response; Immune tolerance; Hypersensitivity; Autoimmunity; Graft versus host reaction.
Bioinformatics: Major bioinformatic resources and search tools; Sequence and structure databases; Sequence analysis (biomolecular sequence file formats, scoring matrices, sequence alignment, phylogeny);Data mining and analytical tools for genomic and proteomic studies; Molecular dynamics and simulations (basic concepts including force fields, protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid, protein-ligand interaction)

Section 3: Recombinant DNA Technology

Restriction and modification enzymes; Vectors; plasmid, bacteriophage and other viral vectors, cosmids, Ti plasmid, yeast artificial chromosome; mammalian and plant expression vectors; cDNA and genomic DNA library; Gene isolation, cloning and expression ; Transposons and gene targeting; DNA labeling; DNA sequencing; Polymerase chain reactions; DNA fingerprinting; Southern and northern blotting; In-situ hybridization; RAPD, RFLP; Site-directed mutagenesis; Gene transfer technologies; Gene therapy

Section 4: Plant and Animal Biotechnology

Totipotency; Regeneration of plants; Plant growth regulators and elicitors; Tissue culture and Cell suspension culture system: methodology, kinetics of growth and, nutrient optimization; Production of secondary metabolites by plant suspension cultures; Hairy root culture; transgenic plants; Plant products of industrial importance Animal cell culture; media composition and growth conditions; Animal cell and tissue preservation; Anchorage and non-anchorage dependent cell culture; Kinetics of cell growth; Micro & macro-carrier culture; Hybridoma technology; Stem cell technology; Animal cloning; Transgenic animals

Section 5: Bioprocess Engineering and Process Biotechnology

Chemical engineering principles applied to biological system, Principle of reactor design, ideal and non-ideal multiphase bioreactors, mass and heat transfer; Rheology of fermentation fluids, Aeration and agitation; Media formulation and optimization; Kinetics of microbial growth, substrate utilization and product formation; Sterilization of air and media; Batch, fed-batch and continuous processes; Various types of microbial and enzyme reactors; Instrumentation control and optimization; Unit operations in solid-liquid separation and liquid-liquid extraction; Process scale-up, economics and feasibility analysis Engineering principle of bioprocessing- Upstream production and downstream; Bioprocess design and development from lab to industrial scale; Microbial, animal and plant cell culture platforms; Production of biomass and primary/secondary metabolites; Biofuels, Bioplastics, industrial enzymes, antibiotics; Large scale production and purification of recombinant proteins; Industrial application of chromatographic and membrane based bioseparation methods; Immobilization of biocatalysts (enzymes and cells) for bioconversion processes; Bioremediation-Aerobic and anaerobic processes for stabilization of solid / liquid wastes

GATE 2016 Chemistry (CY) Syllabus

GATE 2016 General Aptitude Syllabus - Common for ALL Papers

Section 1: Physical Chemistry

Structure: Postulates of quantum mechanics. Time dependent and time independent Schrödinger equations. Born interpretation. Particle in a box. Harmonic oscillator. Rigid rotor. Hydrogen atom: atomic orbitals. Multi-electron atoms: orbital approximation. Variation and first order perturbation techniques. Chemical bonding: Valence bond theory and LCAO-MO theory. Hybrid orbitals. Applications of LCAO-MOT to H2+, H2 and other homonuclear diatomic molecules, heteronuclear diatomic molecules like HF, CO, NO, and to simple delocalized π– electron systems. Hückel approximation and its application to annular π – electron systems. Symmetry elements and operations. Point groups and character tables. Origin of selection rules for rotational, vibrational, electronic and Raman spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. Einstein coefficients. Relationship of transition moment integral with molar extinction coefficient and oscillator strength. Basic principles of nuclear magnetic resonance: nuclear g factor, chemical shift, nuclear coupling.
Equilibrium: Laws of thermodynamics. Standard states. Thermochemistry. Thermodynamic functions and their relationships: Gibbs-Helmholtz and Maxwell relations, van’t Hoff equation. Criteria of spontaneity and equilibrium. Absolute entropy. Partial molar quantities. Thermodynamics of mixing. Chemical potential. Fugacity, activity and activity coefficients. Chemical equilibria. Dependence of equilibrium constant on temperature and pressure. Non-ideal solutions. Ionic mobility and conductivity. Debye-Hückel limiting law. Debye-Hückel-Onsager equation. Standard electrode potentials and electrochemical cells. Potentiometric and conductometric titrations. Phase rule. ClausiusClapeyron equation. Phase diagram of one component systems: CO2, H2O, S; two component systems: liquid-vapour, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid systems. Fractional distillation. Azeotropes and eutectics. Statistical thermodynamics: microcanonical and canonical ensembles, Boltzmann distribution, partition functions and thermodynamic properties.
Kinetics: Transition state theory: Eyring equation, thermodynamic aspects. Potential energy surfaces and classical trajectories. Elementary, parallel, opposing and consecutive reactions. Steady state approximation. Mechanisms of complex reactions. Unimolecular reactions. Kinetics of polymerization and enzyme catalysis. Fast reaction kinetics: relaxation and flow methods. Kinetics of photochemical and photophysical processes. Surfaces and Interfaces: Physisorption and chemisorption. Langmuir, Freundlich and BET isotherms. Surface catalysis: Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Surface tension, viscosity. Self-assembly. Physical chemistry of colloids, micelles and macromolecules.

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Section 2: Inorganic Chemistry

Main Group Elements: Hydrides, halides, oxides, oxoacids, nitrides, sulfides – shapes and reactivity. Structure and bonding of boranes, carboranes, silicones, silicates, boron nitride, borazines and phosphazenes. Allotropes of carbon. Chemistry of noble gases, pseudohalogens, and interhalogen compounds. Acid-base concepts.
Transition Elements: Coordination chemistry – structure and isomerism, theories of bonding (VBT, CFT, and MOT). Energy level diagrams in various crystal fields, CFSE, applications of CFT, Jahn-Teller distortion. Electronic spectra of transition metal complexes: spectroscopic term symbols, selection rules, Orgel diagrams, charge-transfer spectra. Magnetic properties of transition metal complexes. Reaction mechanisms: kinetic and thermodynamic stability, substitution and redox reactions.
Lanthanides and Actinides: Recovery. Periodic properties, spectra and magnetic properties.
Organometallics: 18-Electron rule; metal-alkyl, metal-carbonyl, metal-olefin and metalcarbene complexes and metallocenes. Fluxionality in organometallic complexes. Types of organometallic reactions. Homogeneous catalysis - Hydrogenation, hydroformylation, acetic acid synthesis, metathesis and olefin oxidation. Heterogeneous catalysis - FischerTropsch reaction, Ziegler-Natta polymerization.
Radioactivity: Decay processes, half-life of radioactive elements, fission and fusion processes.
Bioinorganic Chemistry: Ion (Na+ and K+) transport, oxygen binding, transport and utilization, electron transfer reactions, nitrogen fixation, metalloenzymes containing magnesium, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, copper and zinc.
Solids: Crystal systems and lattices, Miller planes, crystal packing, crystal defects, Bragg’s law, ionic crystals, structures of AX, AX2, ABX3 type compounds, spinels, band theory, metals and semiconductors.
Instrumental Methods of Analysis: UV-visible spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry. Chromatography including GC and HPLC. Electroanalytical methods- polarography, cyclic voltammetry, ion-selective electrodes. Thermoanalytical methods.

Section 3: Organic Chemistry

Stereochemistry: Chirality of organic molecules with or without chiral centres and determination of their absolute configurations. Relative stereochemistry in compounds having more than one stereogenic centre. Homotopic, enantiotopic and diastereotopic atoms, groups and faces. Stereoselective and stereospecific synthesis. Conformational analysis of acyclic and cyclic compounds. Geometrical isomerism. Configurational and conformational effects, and neighbouring group participation on reactivity and selectivity/specificity.
Reaction Mechanisms: Basic mechanistic concepts – kinetic versus thermodynamic control, Hammond’s postulate and Curtin-Hammett principle. Methods of determining reaction mechanisms through identification of products, intermediates and isotopic labeling. Nucleophilic and electrophilic substitution reactions (both aromatic and aliphatic). Addition reactions to carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom (N,O) multiple bonds. Elimination reactions. Reactive intermediates – carbocations, carbanions, carbenes, nitrenes, arynes and free radicals. Molecular rearrangements involving electron deficient atoms.
Organic Synthesis: Synthesis, reactions, mechanisms and selectivity involving the following classes of compounds – alkenes, alkynes, arenes, alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, nitriles, halides, nitro compounds, amines and amides. Uses of Mg, Li, Cu, B, Zn and Si based reagents in organic synthesis. Carbon-carbon bond formation through coupling reactions - Heck, Suzuki, Stille and Sonogoshira. Concepts of multistep synthesis - retrosynthetic analysis, strategic disconnections, synthons and synthetic equivalents. Umpolung reactivity – formyl and acyl anion equivalents. Selectivity in organic synthesis – chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity. Protection and deprotection of functional groups. Concepts of asymmetric synthesis – resolution (including enzymatic), desymmetrization and use of chiral auxilliaries. Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions through enolates (including boron enolates), enamines and silyl enol ethers. Michael addition reaction. Stereoselective addition to C=O groups (Cram and Felkin-Anh models).
Pericyclic Reactions and Photochemistry: Electrocyclic, cycloaddition and sigmatropic reactions. Orbital correlations - FMO and PMO treatments. Photochemistry of alkenes, arenes and carbonyl compounds. Photooxidation and photoreduction. Di-π-methane rearrangement, Barton reaction.
Heterocyclic Compounds: Structure, preparation, properties and reactions of furan, pyrrole, thiophene, pyridine, indole, quinoline and isoquinoline. Biomolecules: Structure, properties and reactions of mono- and di-saccharides, physicochemical properties of amino acids, chemical synthesis of peptides, structural features of proteins, nucleic acids, steroids, terpenoids, carotenoids, and alkaloids. Spectroscopy: Applications of UV-visible, IR, NMR and Mass spectrometry in the structural determination of organic molecules.