GATE Chemistry

GATE eligibility criteria factors 2023 will be published by the IIT Kanpur. The eligibility criteria for GATE 2023 include a list of parameters such as academic qualification, nationality, and more. Scroll down to uncover those parameters in detail.

1. The minimum qualification expected for applicants is 10+2+3 i.e. students who are in the third year, higher or already completed their undergraduate course can also register for the GATE entrance test.
2. Earlier, applicants were permitted to apply for only one subject or discipline. But, from 2021 onwards, students can go for two papers from the guided form of combinations.
3. There is one good news for all the GATE aspirants that there is no minimum or maximum GATE exam age limit for enrolling in the GATE Exam.
4. Graduated students in Engineering/ Technology/ Arts/ Commerce or PG in relevant disciplines are also counted as eligible applicants.
5. Any candidate who has already completed any government approved degree program in Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Science / Commerce / Arts is eligible for appearing in the GATE 2023 exam.
6. There is no attempt limit, candidates have to meet eligibility criteria for GATE 2023, and that’s it.
7. However, the candidates who possess certification from any of the professional societies must ensure that those examinations conducted by the societies are approved by MoE/AICTE/UGC/UPSC as equivalent to B.E. / B.Tech. / B.Arch. / B.Planning, etc.
8. Candidates who have obtained/are pursuing their qualifying degree from countries other than India: Must be currently in the 3rd or higher years or completed their Bachelor’s degree (duration: at least 3 years) in Engineering / Technology / Science / Arts / Commerce.

GATE Exam Age Limit

1. There is no age limit

Education Qualification

1. A candidate who is currently studying in the 3rd or higher years of any undergraduate degree program OR has already completed any government-approved degree program in Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Science / Commerce / Arts.

Nationality

1. Indian nationality students will be eligible
2. International candidates belonging to Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be also eligible

GATE Eligibility Criteria By Qualifying Degree:

1. B.Sc. (Research) / B.S. - Bachelor’s degree in Science (Post-Diploma/4 years after 10+2) - Currently, in the 3rd year or higher or already completed
2. M. Sc. or equivalent - Master’s degree in any branch of Science or equivalent - Currently, in the first year or higher or already Completed
3. B.Sc. - Bachelor degree in any branch of Science (3 Year Program) - Currently, in the 3rd year or already completed

Pattern of Examniation

General Aptitude (GA)

1. Verbal Aptitude: Basic English grammar: tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, and other parts of speech Basic vocabulary: words, idioms, and phrases in context
   Reading and comprehension Narrative sequencing
2. Quantitative Aptitude: Data interpretation: data graphs (bar graphs, pie charts, and other graphs representing data), 2- and
   3-dimensional plots, maps, and tables Numerical computation and estimation: ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, and series Mensuration and
   geometry Elementary statistics and probability
3. Analytical Aptitude: Logic: deduction and induction, Analogy, Numerical relations and reasoning
4. Spatial Aptitude: Transformation of shapes: translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling, and grouping Paper
   folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions

Chemistry (CY)

Section 1: Physical Chemistry

1. Structure: Postulates of quantum mechanics. Operators. Time dependent and time independent Schrödinger equations. Born interpretation. Dirac bra-ket notation. Particle in a box: infinite and finite square wells; concept of tunnelling; particle in 1D, 2D and 3D-box; applications. Harmonic oscillator: harmonic and anharmonic potentials; hermite polynomials. Rotational motion: Angular momentum operators, Rigid rotor. Hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms: atomic orbitals; radial distribution function. Multi-electron atoms: orbital approximation; electron spin; Pauli exclusion principle; slater determinants. Approximation Methods: Variation method and secular determinants; first order perturbation techniques. Atomic units. Molecular structure and Chemical bonding: Born Oppenheimer approximation; Valence bond theory and linear combination of atomic orbitals –
   molecular orbital (LCAO-MO) theory. Hybrid orbitals. Applications of LCAO-MO theory to H2+, H2; orbital theory (MOT) of homo- and heteronuclear diatomic molecules. Hückel approximation and its application to annular π – electron systems.
2. Group Theory: Symmetry elements and operations; Point groups and character tables; Internal coordinates and vibrational modes; symmetry adapted linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAOMO); construction of hybrid orbitals using symmetry aspects.
3. Spectroscopy: Atomic spectroscopy; Russell-Saunders coupling; Term symbols and spectral details; origin of selection rules. Rotational, vibrational, electronic and Raman spectroscopy of diatomic and polyatomic molecules. Line broadening. Einstein’s coefficients. Relationship of transition moment integral with molar extinction coefficient and oscillator strength. Basic principles of nuclear magnetic resonance: gyromagnetic ratio; chemical shift, nuclear coupling.
4. Equilibrium: Laws of thermodynamics. Standard states. Thermochemistry. Thermodynamic functions and their relationships: Gibbs-Helmholtz and Maxwell relations, Gibbs-Duhem equation, van’t Hoff equation. Criteria of spontaneity and equilibrium. Absolute entropy. Partial molar quantities. Thermodynamics of mixing. Chemical potential. Fugacity, activity and activity coefficients. Ideal and Non-ideal solutions, Raoult’s Law and Henry’s Law, Chemical equilibria. Dependence of equilibrium constant on temperature and pressure. Ionic mobility and conductivity. Debye-Hückel limiting law. Debye-Hückel-Onsager equation. Standard electrode potentials and electrochemical cells. Nernst Equation and its application, relationship between Electrode potential and thermodynamic quantities, Potentiometric and conduct metric titrations. Phase rule. ClausiusClapeyron equation. Phase diagram of one component systems: CO2, H2O, S; two component systems: liquid- vapour, liquid-liquid and solid-liquid systems. Fractional distillation. Azeotropes and eutectics. Statistical thermodynamics: micro canonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles, Boltzmann distribution, partition functions and thermodynamic properties.
5. Kinetics (Topic has been rearranged): Elementary, parallel, opposing and consecutive reactions. Steady state approximation. Mechanisms of complex reactions. Unimolecular reactions. Potential energy surfaces and classical trajectories, Concept of Saddle points, Transition state theory: Eyring equation, thermodynamic aspects. Kinetics of polymerization. Catalysis concepts and enzyme
   catalysis. Kinetic isotope effects. Fast reaction kinetics: relaxation and flow methods. Diffusion controlled reactions. Kinetics of photochemical and photo physical processes.
6. Surfaces and Interfaces: Physisorption and chemisorption. Langmuir, Freundlich and Brunauer– Emmett–Teller (BET) isotherms. Surface catalysis: Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Surface tension, viscosity. Self-assembly. Physical chemistry of colloids, micelles and macromolecules.

Section 2: Inorganic Chemistry

1. Main Group Elements: Hydrides, halides, oxides, oxoacids, nitrides, sulfides – shapes and reactivity.
   Structure and bonding of boranes, carboranes, silicones, silicates, boron nitride, borazines and
   phosphazenes. Allotropes of carbon, phosphorous and sulphur. Industrial synthesis of compounds
   of main group elements. Chemistry of noble gases, pseudohalogens, and interhalogen compounds.
   Acid-base concepts and principles (Lewis, Brønsted, HSAB and acid-base catalysis).
2. Transition Elements: Coordination chemistry – structure and isomerism, theories of bonding (VBT, CFT, and MOT). Energy level diagrams in various crystal fields, CFSE, applications of CFT, JahnTeller distortion. Electronic spectra of transition metal complexes: spectroscopic term symbols,
   selection rules, Orgel and Tanabe-Sugano diagrams, nephelauxetic effect and Racah parameter, charge-transfer spectra. Magnetic properties of transition metal complexes. Ray-Dutt and Bailar
   twists, Reaction mechanisms: kinetic and thermodynamic stability, substitution and redox reactions. Metal-metal multiple bond.
3. Lanthanides and Actinides: Recovery. Periodic properties, spectra and magnetic properties.
4. Organometallics: 18-Electron rule; metal-alkyl, metal-carbonyl, metal-olefin and metal- carbene complexes and metallocenes. Fluxionality in organometallic complexes. Types of organometallic
   reactions. Homogeneous catalysis - Hydrogenation, hydroformylation, acetic acid synthesis, metathesis and olefin oxidation. Heterogeneous catalysis - Fischer- Tropsch reaction, Ziegler-Natta
   polymerization.
5. Radioactivity: Detection of radioactivity, Decay processes, half-life of radioactive elements, fission
   and fusion processes.
6. Bioinorganic Chemistry: Ion (Na+ and K+) transport, oxygen binding, transport and utilization, electron transfer reactions, nitrogen fixation, metalloenzymes containing magnesium, molybdenum, iron,
   cobalt, copper and zinc.
7. Solids: Crystal systems and lattices, Miller planes, crystal packing, crystal defects, Bragg’s law, ionic
   crystals, structures of AX, AX2, ABX3 type compounds, spinels, band theory, metals and
   semiconductors.
8. Instrumental Methods of Analysis: UV-visible, fluorescence and FTIR spectrophotometry, NMR and ESR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy
   (Fe and Sn) and X-ray crystallography. Chromatography including GC and HPLC. Electroanalytical methods- polarography, cyclic voltammetry, ion-selective electrodes. Thermoanalytical methods.

Section 3: Organic Chemistry

1. Stereochemistry: Chirality and symmetry of organic molecules with or without chiral centres and
   determination of their absolute configurations. Relative stereochemistry in compounds having more
   than one stereogenic centre. Homotopic, enantiotopic and diastereotopic atoms, groups and faces. Stereoselective and stereospecific synthesis. Conformational analysis of acyclic and cyclic
   compounds. Geometrical isomerism and optical isomerism. Configurational and conformational
   effects, atropisomerism, and neighbouring group participation on reactivity and selectivity/specificity.
2. Reaction Mechanisms: Basic mechanistic concepts – kinetic versus thermodynamic control,
   Hammond’s postulate and Curtin-Hammett principle. Methods of determining reaction mechanisms
   through kinetics, identification of products, intermediates and isotopic labelling. Linear free-energy
   relationship – Hammett and Taft equations. Nucleophilic and electrophilic substitution reactions (both
   aromatic and aliphatic). Addition reactions to carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom (N and O)
   multiple bonds. Elimination reactions. Reactive intermediates – carbocations, carbanions, carbenes,
   nitrenes, arynes and free radicals. Molecular rearrangements.
3. Organic Synthesis: Synthesis, reactions, mechanisms and selectivity involving the following classes
   of compounds – alkenes, alkynes, arenes, alcohols, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids,
   esters, nitriles, halides, nitro compounds, amines and amides. Uses of Mg, Li, Cu, B, Zn, P, S, Sn
   and Si based reagents in organic synthesis. Carbon-carbon bond formation through coupling
   reactions - Heck, Suzuki, Stille, Sonogoshira, Negishi, Kumada, Hiyama, Tsuji-Trost, olefin
   metathesis and McMurry. Concepts of multistep synthesis - retrosynthetic analysis, strategic
   disconnections, synthons and synthetic equivalents. Atom economy and Green Chemistry,
   Umpolung reactivity – formyl and acyl anion equivalents. Selectivity in organic synthesis – chemo-,
   regio- and stereoselectivity. Protection and deprotection of functional groups. Concepts of
   asymmetric synthesis – resolution (including enzymatic), desymmetrization and use of chiral
   auxiliaries, organocatalysis. Carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond forming reactions through
   enolates (including boron enolates), enamines and silyl enol ethers. Stereoselective addition to C=O
   groups (Cram, Prelog and Felkin-Anh models).
4. Pericyclic Reactions and Photochemistry: Electrocyclic, cycloaddition and sigmatropic reactions.
   Orbital correlations - FMO and PMO treatments, Woodward-Hoffmann rule. Photochemistry of
   alkenes, arenes and carbonyl compounds. Photooxidation and photoreduction. Di-π-methane
   rearrangement, Barton-McCombie reaction, Norrish type-I and II cleavage reaction.
5. Heterocyclic Compounds: Structure, preparation, properties and reactions of furan, pyrrole,
   thiophene, pyridine, indole, quinoline and isoquinoline.
6. Biomolecules: Structure, properties and reactions of mono- and di-saccharides, physicochemical
   properties of amino acids, chemical synthesis of peptides, chemical structure determination of
   peptides and proteins, structural features of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, steroids, terpenoids,
   carotenoids, and alkaloids.
7. Experimental Techniques in Organic Chemistry: Optical rotation (polarimetry). Applications of
   various chromatographic techniques such as thin-layer, column, HPLC and GC. Applications of UVvisible, IR, NMR and Mass spectrometry in the structural determination of organic molecules.