Course Identification

This course offers an introduction to the rapidly expanding, interdisciplinary field of chemistry which concerns structures and materials in the NANO size regime – that is, between individual molecules and microscale objects. These nanomaterials often exhibit new and unexpected properties, and many of them provide good examples of how fundamental science can quickly give rise to important applications. At the same time, various nanomaterials are widely investigated in many laboratories here at the Weizmann Institute (mostly in the Departments of Materials & Interfaces and Organic Chemistry, but also Faculties of Physics and Life Sciences). This course will provide an introduction to the field. The lectures are planned as follows:

1. Overview. Self-assembled monolayers
2. Mixed self-assembled monolayers
3. Synthesis and structure of nanoparticles
4. Optical properties of nanoparticles
5. Magnetic properties of nanoparticles
6. Chemical reactions of nanoparticles
7. Self-assembly of nanoparticles
8. Principles of supramolecular chemistry
9. Self-assembled capsules
10. Supramolecular polymers
11. Mechanostereochemistry
12. Molecular switches and machines
13. Design of synthetic nonequilibrium systems: performing work with molecules 

Upon successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate sufficient knowledge to initiate experimental work in the field of supramolecular chemistry and nanoparticles.
2. Have a good general knowledge of inorganic chemistry.
3. Solve numerical problems in analytical chemistry, electrochemistry, and colloidal chemistry.
4. Integrate concepts from colloidal and supramolecular chemistry.
5. Demonstrate the understanding of the importance of different types of interactions for the construction of nanoscale systems.
6. Predict the structures of self-assembled objects based on the structures of the building blocks.
7. Read with good understanding and critically discuss current literature in the field.
8. Critically analyze experimental results from electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and related techniques.

Original scientific publications will be distributed throughout the semester
Optional reading:

1. J. W. Steed & J. L. Atwood, "Supramolecular Chemistry", 2nd Ed., Wiley, 2009
2. G. A. Ozin & A. C. Arsenault, "Nanochemistry", 2nd Ed., RSC Publishing, 2008