Quantum Chemistry 2nd Edition

I’m using this book for additional study in quantum mechanics, the most fascinating field in physical science! It is a very good modern text of this complicated field.

This was my quantum chemistry textbook at the university and I’ve recently returned to it for review. It is a remarkably straightforward presentation of quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry. It is rigorous and thorough but very well organized and easy to follow. Terms are explained clearly and the examples demonstrate the application of the basic principles very well. One reason I am impressed with this text is because of the disorganized and impenetrable presentation of identical material I have seen in other texts. Quantum mechanics is not simple but it need not be inaccessible. Once you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary and mathematical tools involved it’s actually not that difficult. But you need a good presentation, which is what this text provides.

McQuarrie's Quantum Chemistry, 2nd Edition is an excellent text for introducing serious students to quantum mechanics, applied to chemistry. The academic level of the writing is appropriate to such students, and the quality of the back-of-the-chapter problems is excellent. One can learn much more detail by working the back-of-the-chapter problems than simply by reading the text. I would recommend this text to any junior-level physical chemistry student, who is serious about learning quantum chemistry. Being serious about learning quantum chemistry means having a willingness to work long math problems and to put some effort into learning the material. If a student is not serious about learning quantum chemistry, then there are other textbooks less focused on math and more on the general concepts that such a student could use.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Overall, this is a great text for an undergraduate chemist's introduction to quantum mechanics. The writing and derivations are clear, figures are thoughtfully used, the progression of the chapters is logical, and the index is relatively comprehensive; this makes for a very readable and useful book to both learn from and use as a quick reference. The end-of-chapter problems are also fantastic. There are tons of them, and they span the spectrum from short and easy variations of in-chapter examples to full-fledged proofs. In the more difficult problems and proofs the author walks the student through the process as a good tutor would nudge a student in the right direction.Compared to a physics text, it spends much more time on atomic/molecular applications of quantum mechanics. Rotational and vibrational spectroscopies are covered at a basic level, and chemical bonding is covered in relative detail. On the flip side, some other really interesting applications are left out.Some things I didn’t like:-Some important concepts are left to the problems. Tunneling, for example, was introduced in a long-form problem.- McQuarrie typically uses the very simplest case to derive and/or explain topics, and this caused a few spots of frustration for me, especially in the later sections.- Spin gets a very basic treatment; my recollection is that it got perhaps two pages, just enough so that McQuarrie could talk about wave function symmetry and Slater determinants.- There’s not much talk about “what it means” - the book generally treats quantum mechanics just as a useful tool. This is not entirely sifficient for aspiring physical chemists/chemical physicists.UPDATE (three years later, now in graduate school): My original review was a 5-star, but I docked one. This book is perfect for an intro course aimed at teaching the basic ideas of quantum mechanics and its applications to chemistry. For most chemists, that’s totally sufficient. For those who want to/need to study more quantum mechanics, the book is too shallow. The relationship between wave functions and vectors and what the “state” of a system really means weren’t really emphasized. Similarly, I wish that what matrices and linear algebra have to do with the subject came across more clearly. These are all mentioned, but briefly. These concepts are extremely important to understand if one wants to go further with the subject, but I now think they are essential to a basic treatment as well. Still a good book though. I used it in a class taught by a great professor, and by the end of the semester I really loved the subject.

I've always thought that if you master a subject should be able to explain easily. That is the case with this book. The author not only dominates the issues, but in this edition features chapters of math, beautifully described, to help understand the rest of the book. Whether you work with semiconductors, solar cells, conductive polymers, nanoscience or, in general, want to learn solid state physics, this book is essential in your library. I use it as a textbook in a graduate course entitled: Functional properties of crystals. This course is taken from physical to chemical engineers and geologists, and the book is helpful regardless of specialty.

I used this book as a supplement to Levine in an honors Pchem class. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the readability of McQuarrie's text. The material is clearly presented, the progression is very well structured. McQuarrie's lightweight presentation and mathematical asides made my journey through the material relatively smooth and rapid; a refreshing breeze after the heavy roaring of Levine's more exacting and thorough treatment of the subject.As a bonus for those of us who like to learn by doing, a very well written and comprehensive solution manual is available for the text.

Hard to follow. I find that the problems at the end of the chapter are cryptic and I often can't figure out what the problems are ultimately asking me to do.

McQuarrie is the master of presenting complex subjects in easy-to-follow steps. There are plenty of example problems in the book, and there are many "Math Chapter" sections for reviewing relevant subjects like matrix math and determinants. I have been using this book as the main guidepost for an independent study in Quantum Mechanics at university, and even I--with only Calculus II-level math skills--can follow the examples in the book.