6Sp
Specialist and Interdisciplinary Chemistry
Silicon, fluorine and boron chemistry, medicines and chemical biology, materials, the environment, space and the nucleus.
My level
6.1 Element-focused chemistry
- Silicon chemistry and siliconesGCSEA-LevelUndergradPhDSilanes, siloxanes and silicone polymers; why Si differs from C; silyl protecting groups, the Peterson and Brook reactions, and sol-gel silica.
- Organofluorine chemistryA-LevelUndergradPhDThe C–F bond, fluorination reagents, fluorine in drugs and agrochemicals, fluoropolymers and the PFAS problem.
- Organoboron reagentsUndergradPhDHydroboration, boronic acids and esters, Suzuki coupling partners, Lewis acidity and frustrated Lewis pairs.
6.2 Medicines and chemical biology
- Medicinal chemistry and drug designA-LevelUndergradPhDTargets, hits and leads, structure-activity relationships, Lipinski's rule of five, ADME and bioisosteres.
- Click and bioorthogonal chemistryUndergradPhDCuAAC, strain-promoted cycloadditions, tetrazine ligations and labelling biomolecules inside living cells.
- Peptide synthesisA-LevelUndergradPhDAmide coupling reagents, Fmoc and Boc solid-phase synthesis, racemisation and native chemical ligation.
- Natural product biosynthesisUndergradPhDAcetate, mevalonate and shikimate pathways; polyketide synthases, terpenes, alkaloids and engineered biosynthesis.
- Chemical probes and proteomicsPhDActivity-based protein profiling, photoaffinity labelling, target identification and PROTACs.
6.3 Materials and supramolecular chemistry
- Supramolecular chemistryA-LevelUndergradPhDHost-guest chemistry, crown ethers, cyclodextrins, self-assembly, molecular machines and the chelate effect.
- NanochemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradPhDNanoparticles, quantum dots, surface-to-volume ratio, size-dependent properties and their uses and risks.
- Liquid crystalsA-LevelUndergradPhDNematic, smectic and cholesteric phases, molecular shape, order parameters and displays.
- Conducting polymers and organic electronicsA-LevelUndergradPhDConjugation and band gaps, doping polyacetylene, OLEDs, organic photovoltaics and transistors.
- Battery chemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradPhDCells and batteries, lithium-ion intercalation, electrode materials, energy density and degradation.
- Flow chemistry and mechanochemistryUndergradPhDContinuous-flow reactors, residence time, safe handling of hazardous reagents, and solvent-free ball milling.
6.4 Earth, space and the nucleus
- Atmospheric chemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradPhDOzone formation and depletion, the hydroxyl radical, smog, greenhouse gases and aerosols.
- Water and environmental chemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradWater treatment, hardness, pollutants and their fate, persistence, bioaccumulation and analysis.
- AstrochemistryA-LevelUndergradPhDNucleosynthesis, interstellar molecules, ion-molecule chemistry on dust grains and how spectra reveal them.
- Nuclear and radiochemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradPhDRadioactive decay, half-life, fission and fusion, radiopharmaceuticals and dating.
6.5 Applied chemistry
- Forensic chemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradPresumptive tests, chromatography and mass spectrometry of drugs, toxicology, fire debris and chain of custody.
- Food chemistryGCSEA-LevelUndergradMaillard browning, caramelisation, fats and emulsions, additives, preservation and flavour molecules.