Organic Reaction, Chromatography, Oxidation, Reduction, Quantum Chemistry, Electrochemistry, etc are the main topics covered in Ph.D Chemistry Entrance Exam. One can expect questions from various sub topics under these main topics and hence a thorough preparation is needed to clear this exam.

Detailed Syllabus of Ph.D in Chemistry Entrance Exam

Stereochemistry

• Baldwin’s Rule and Dunitz’s angle of attack
• Cieplak Model
• Conformation analysis of cycloalkanes
• Cram’s Model
• Enatiotopic and diastereotopic atoms, groups & faces
• Felkin-Ahn Model
• Optical purity
• Sterospecific and stereoselective synthesis

Organic Reaction Mechanisms

• Arndt-Eistert Synthesis
• Beckmann Rearrangement
• Benzil-Benzilic acid
• Carbanions
• Carbenes
• Favorskii Rearrangement
• Free radicals
• Gattermann-Koch reaction
• Hunsdieker reaction
• Mechanism of nucleophilic substitution
• Nitrenes
• Pinacol-Pinacolone Rearrangement
• Sandmeyer reaction
• Smiles Rearrangement
• Wagner-Meerwein Rearrangement

Oxidation and Reduction

• Baeyer Villiger Oxidation
• Catalytic Hydrogenation
• Clemmenson’s Reduction
• Metal Reductions
• Meerwin Pondorf Varely Reduction
• Oppenauer oxidation
• Prevost Reaction
• Swern oxidation
• Wolf Kishner Reduction

Heterocyclic Chemistry

• Diels-Alder Reaction
• Pal-Knorr synthesis
• Principles of heterocyclic synthesis

Chromatography

• Classification of stationary and mobile phase
• Column Chromatography
• Normal and Reverse Phase Chromatography
• Paper Chromatography
• Preparative TLC
• Principle and examples of detection methods
• Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)

Reaction Mechanism of Transition Metal Complexes

• Acid hydrolysis
• Application of valence bond and crystal field theory
• Base hydrolysis
• Electron transfer reactions
• Energy profile of a reaction
• Kinetics of octahedral substitution
• Reactivity of metal complexes
• Redox reactions
• Substitution reaction in square complexes
• Trans effect

Metal carbonyls and related complexes

• Structure and bonding
• Structure and bonding of transition metal complexes
• Synthesis, reaction and vibrational spectra

Metal-Ligand Bonding

• Concept of a Ligand field
• Scope of Ligand field theory
• Qualitative demonstration of ligand field effect

Introductory Quantum Chemistry

• Black body radiation
• Emergence of quantum mechanics
• Planck’s concept of quantization
• Planck’s equation
• Uncertainty principle
• Wave particle duality

Electrochemistry

• Debye-Huckel Theory
• Derivation of Debye-Huckel-Onsager equation
• Potentiometric titrations
• Determination of pH and solubility product
• Thermodynamics
• Batteries
• Primary & secondary cell
• Fuel cell

Chemical kinetics

• Activation parameters and their significance
• Catalyst
• Collision theory
• Complex reactions
• Correlations for nucleophillic reactions
• Eyring equation
• Taft four-parameter equation
• The Swain – Scott equation and the Edward equation
• Theories of reaction rates
• Thermodynamic formulation of transition state theory
• Transition state theory
• Unimolecular reactions and Lindamann’s theory

Thermodynamics

• First and II laws of thermodynamics
• Concept of entropy-entropy
• Entropy changes in various processes
• Entropy as a function of V and T, P and T
• Entropy change in isolated systems
• Entropy changes on mixing of ideal gases
• Clausius inequality
• Entropy change as criterion for spontaneity and equilibrium
• Third law of thermodynamics
• Evaluation of absolute entropies
• Standard entropies and entropy changes of chemical reactions
• Helmholtz and Gibbs
• Phase equilibrium
• Clapeyron equation
• Clausius-Clapeyron equation
• Closed system
• Chemical potential of ideal gases
• Ideal-gas reaction equilibrium
• Hoff equation

Apart from this, one can also expect questions on Structure Elucidation, Organometallic compounds, etc. Reference books as well as e books are available in plenty on these topics, which can be used for preparation.