SOLID state chemistry, CURRICULUM, CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, STRUCTURAL analysis (Science), INORGANIC chemistry, and EDUCATION
Abstract
The article describes a course in undergraduate solid state chemistry that integrates the main concepts of crystallography which is also considered as an attempt to create a course in applied crystallography. The course introduces structure analysis techniques and links them to courses in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry to bring the fundamentals of the science closer to chemists, material scientists and biologists. The experience of teaching this course proved that the merging of chemistry and crystallography is synergistic.
Solid-state chemistry, Crystallography, Materials science, Structure analysis, General chemistry, Chemistry (relationship), and General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Abstract
This contribution describes a 30-year experience of teaching a general course in solid-state chemistry for undergraduates, which introduces at the same time the main concepts of crystallography, gives an introduction to structure analysis techniques, and makes links to courses in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry. Such a combination can be beneficial for bringing the fundamentals of crystallography (basics and techniques) closer to its `users' – chemists, materials scientists, biologists – and can be considered as an attempt to create a course in `applied crystallography'. The aim of the course is to teach chemists which chemical information can be retrieved from a crystal structure and how. This is complementary to more generally accepted courses, which teach how to obtain structural information and to describe crystal structures.
