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Fundamentals and Applications of Supramolecular Chemistry

By Prof. Deepak Chopra   |   IISER Bhopal
Learners enrolled: 83
ABOUT THE COURSE:

The objective of this interdisciplinary course is to learn the fundamental principles of molecular recognition and supramolecular chemistry.
The focus will be to:
(i) identify different types of non-covalent interactions
(ii) interpret the thermodynamics of host-guest interactions
(iii) discuss the molecular recognition properties of common receptors
(iv) understand the principles of self-assembly
(v) solid state phenomena
vi) Applications in materials

PREREQUISITES: Basic Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Pharmaceutical Companies/Chemical Industries
Summary
Course Status : Upcoming
Course Type : Elective
Language for course content : English
Duration : 12 weeks
Category :
  • Chemistry
Credit Points : 3
Level : Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date : 21 Jul 2025
End Date : 10 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends : 28 Jul 2025
Exam Registration Ends : 15 Aug 2025
Exam Date : 26 Oct 2025 IST
NCrF Level   : 4.5 — 8.0

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.


Page Visits



Course layout

Week 1: Chemical forces (ion-ion, ion-dipole, dipole-dipole, ion/dipole-induced dipole, instantaneous dipole-induced dipole, repulsive forces).

Week 2: Aromatic stacking, cation-π/anion-π, lone pair-pπ, Concept of σ-hole applied to halogen bond, chalcogen bond, tetrel bond (energetics, molecular electrostatic potentials). Principle of close packing.

Week 3: Receptors, Host-guest complexes, Preorganization, Hydrophobic effects, Lock and key principle, Chelate and, macrocyclic effects.

Week 4: Podands, Corands, Cryptands, Spherands, Cyclodextrins, Dianin’s compounds, calix -n-arenes, cucurbiturils, pillararenes.

Week 5: Crystal engineering, Graph set notations, Synthons and Topology of hydrogen bonded systems, Hydrates, solvates, Clathrates and their applications.

Week 6: Cocrystals, Polymorphism, conformation and packing polymorphs. Their Physicochemical properties and applications.

Week 7: Crystal nucleation, phase transition, Stimuli guided processes, Liquid crystals.

Week 8: Second coordination sphere, Metal complexes as supramolecular systems, Enzyme mimics.

Week 9: Recognitions of organic cations and anions, siderophores, ion-transports.

Week 10: Self-assembly of amphiphiles, surfactants, supramolecular gelators

Week 11: Supramolecular reaction vessels, photochemical reactions, and supramolecular catalysis.

Week 12: Applications: NLO materials, molecular wires and Chiral Assemblies. Introduction to systems chemistry.

Books and references

  1. Steed, J. W. and Atwood, J. L., Supramolecular Chemistry, 2nd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, 2000. 
  2. Lehn, J. -M., Supramolecular Chemistry. Concepts and Perspectives, Wiley VCH, 1995.3.Schneider, H.-J. and Yatsimirsky, A., Principles and Methods in Supramolecular Chemistry, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. 
  3. Desiraju, G. R., Vittal, J. J. and Ramanan, A. Crystal Engineering: A Textbook, World Scientific, 2011. 
  4. Bernstein, J. Polymorphism in Molecular Crystals, 2nd Edition, OUP, 2020.

Instructor bio

Prof. Deepak Chopra

IISER Bhopal
Dr. Deepak Chopra is currently Professor in the Department of Chemistry at IISER Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh since March 2009. He received his degree in B.Sc. (H) Chemistry (Gold Medallist) from Jadavpur University in 2001. Following which he pursued the Integrated PhD program from IISc, Bengaluru. He continued as a postdoctoral fellow in IISc till 2007 and further continued his postdoctoral work at the University of Toledo, Ohio, USA. His active research interests, includes investigation of polymorphism, computational analysis of non-covalent interactions, in situ cryocrystallization, and structure-property correlation in molecular crystals. He has published 130 peer-reviewed articles. He has also edited a complete monograph entitled “Understanding Intermolecular Interactions in the Solid State: Approaches and Techniques”, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge in 2018. He is currently on the Editorial Board of Journal of Molecular Structure, Elsevier, a Fellow of the Indian Chemical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.
The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).
Date and Time of Exams: October 26, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.
Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.
The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.
Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IISER Bhopal .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team


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