CSIR UGC NET (CHEMICAL SCIENCES)

CSIR UGC COMBINED NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY TEST (CSIR

UGC NET) for RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP & LECTURESHIP for
chemical sciences is conducted twice every year (in June & in
December) to select right candidates to award research fellowships,
initially for two years (JRF) which can be further extended for three
more years (SRF). This exam is also popularly known as CSIR
NET or CSIR UGC NET exam. Most of the admissions into Ph.D
courses in prestigious institutions of India like IISc, Central
University of Hyderabad, IIT's and several CSIR laboratories
require the qualification in CSIR UGC NET exam.
CSIR NET EXAM PATTERN (NEW)
According to new pattern implemented from June 2011 onwards, the
CSIR NET exam in chemical sciences is:
* a single paper test having multiple choice questions
(MCQs)
* carries a maximum of 200 marks.
* is divided into three parts (A, B & C).
* conducted for the duration of 3 hours.
Part - A carries 20 questions and is common to all the subjects. The
candidate is required to answer any 15 questions. Each correct
answer is awarded with 2 marks. The total marks allocated to this
section shall be 30 out of 200.

The revised pattern for this part will test general aptitude with
emphasis on logical reasoning, graphical analysis, analytical and
numerical ability, quantitative comparison, series formation, puzzles
etc. There is no syllabus prescribed for this.
Part - B contains 50 multiple choice questions generally covering
the topics given in the syllabus. A candidate is required to answer
any 35 questions and each correct answer is awarded with 2 marks.
The total marks allocated to this section shall be 70 out of 200.
The standards of these questions from this section may range from
10+2 to PG level in chemistry subject.
Part - C consists of 75 questions. A candidate shall be required to
answer any 25 questions, each carrying 4 marks. The maximum
marks allocated to this section is 100 out of 200.
The questions shall be of analytical nature where a candidate is
expected to apply the scientific knowledge in chemistry to arrive at
the solution to the given problem.
There will be negative marking @25% for each wrong answer.
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Cutoff marks for previous CSIR NET exams in chemical sciences

paper are tabulated below. Note that these are percentages and are
not same for each exam. Multiply with 2 to get actual score per 200.
CSIR never announced the criteria for deciding the cutoff marks.
They never announced them before exam too. So no guess work
please.
% Cutoff marks for Chemical sciences

Mon Junior Research

Lectureship
th &
Fellowship
(LS)
Year
(JRF)
of
SC/S General/
SC/S
Exa General/
OBC
OBC
OBC
T
OBC
T
m
DEC
,
2011

45%

47% 35%

40%

40% 30%

JUN
E,
2012

47%

47% 37%

42%

42% 32%

DEC
,
2012

43.5%

43.5 33.5
%
%

38.5%

38.5 28.5
%
%

JUN
E,
2013

53%*

53% 43%
*
*

48%*

48%*

DEC
,
2013

55%

55% 45%

50%

50% 40%

50%

50% 40%

45%

45% 35%

JUN
E,

38%
*

1. Chemical periodicity

2014
Dec,
2014

52%

46.80 41.60
46.80%
%
%

42.1 37.44
2%
%

* These were not announced by CSIR officially. I got them from

various sources. I cannot guarantee the validity of above data. Please
confirm with CSIR before coming to a conclusion.
As is evident from above data, I am expecting further increase in
the cutoff marks for future exams.
GATE (CHEMISTRY)
GATE exam is conducted once in every year in chemical sciences
along with other engineering subjects. It is organized by IIT's and
the purpose of this exam is to select candidates who want to pursue
their masters courses in technology (M. Tech). The candidates with
very good GATE score are also eligible to get the CSIR scholarship
in some selected institutes and preferred over others while taking
into project work.
CSIR NET CHEMITRY SYLLABUS
The syllabus for CSIR NET and GATE exams including other
exams for Ph.D entrance exams is almost same. The common
syllabus for both part B & C of CSIR NET exam in chemical
sciences is given below.
Inorganic Chemistry :

2. Structure and bonding in homo and hetero nuclear molecules,

including shapes of molecules (VSEPR Theory).
3. Concepts of acids and bases, Hard-Soft acid base concept, Nonaqueous solvents.
4. Main group elements and their compounds: Allotropy, synthesis,
structure and bonding, industrial importance of the compounds.
5. Transition elements and coordination compounds: structure,
bonding theories, spectral and magnetic properties, reaction
mechanisms.
6. Inner transition elements: spectral and magnetic properties, redox
chemistry, analytical applications.
7. Organometallic compounds: synthesis, bonding and structure, and
reactivity. Organometallics in homogeneous catalysis.
8. Cages and metal clusters.
9. Analytical chemistry- separation, spectroscopic, electro- and
thermoanalytical methods.
10.
Bioinorganic
chemistry:
photosystems,
porphyrins,
metalloenzymes, oxygen transport, electron- transfer reactions;
nitrogen fixation, metal complexes in medicine.

11. Characterization of inorganic compounds by IR, Raman, NMR,

EPR, Mssbauer, UV-vis, NQR, MS, electron spectroscopy and
microscopic techniques.

6. Molecular spectroscopy: Rotational and vibrational spectra of

diatomic molecules; electronic spectra; IR and Raman activities
selection rules; basic principles of magnetic resonance.

12. Nuclear chemistry: nuclear reactions, fission and fusion, radioanalytical techniques and activation analysis.

7. Chemical thermodynamics: Laws, state and path functions and

their applications; thermodynamic description of various types of
processes; Maxwells relations; spontaneity and equilibria;
temperature and pressure dependence of thermodynamic quantities;
Le Chatelier principle; elementary description of phase transitions;
phase equilibria and phase rule; thermodynamics of ideal and nonideal gases, and solutions.

Physical Chemistry:
1. Basic principles of quantum mechanics: Postulates; operator
algebra; exactly- solvable systems: particle-in-a-box, harmonic
oscillator and the hydrogen atom, including shapes of atomic
orbitals; orbital and spin angular momenta; tunneling.
2. Approximate methods of quantum mechanics: Variational
principle; perturbation theory up to second order in energy;
applications.
3. Atomic structure and spectroscopy; term symbols; many-electron
systems and anti-symmetry principle.
4. Chemical bonding in diatomics; elementary concepts of MO and
VB theories; Huckel theory for conjugated p-electron systems.
5. Chemical applications of group theory; symmetry elements; point
groups; character tables; selection rules.

8. Statistical thermodynamics: Boltzmann distribution; kinetic

theory of gases; partition functions and their relation to
thermodynamic quantities calculations for model systems.
9.
Electrochemistry:
Nernst
equation,
redox
systems,
electrochemical cells; DebyeHuckel theory; electrolytic conductance
Kohlrauschs law and its applications; ionic equilibria;
conductometric and potentiometric titrations.
10. Chemical kinetics: Empirical rate laws and temperature
dependence; complex reactions; steady state approximation;
determination of reaction mechanisms; collision and transition state
theories of rate constants; unimolecular reactions; enzyme kinetics;
salt effects; homogeneous catalysis; photochemical reactions.
11. Colloids and surfaces: Stability and properties of colloids;
isotherms and surface area; heterogeneous catalysis.

12. Solid state: Crystal structures; Braggs law and applications;

band structure of solids.

6. Common named reactions and rearrangements applications in

organic synthesis.

13. Polymer chemistry: Molar masses; kinetics of polymerization.

7. Organic transformations and reagents: Functional group

interconversion including oxidations and reductions; common
catalysts and reagents (organic, inorganic, organometallic and
enzymatic). Chemo, regio and stereoselective transformations.

14. Data analysis: Mean and standard deviation; absolute and

relative errors; linear regression; covariance and correlation
coefficient.
Organic Chemistry:
1. IUPAC nomenclature of organic molecules including regio- and
stereoisomers.
2. Principles of stereochemistry: Configurational and conformational
isomerism in acyclic and cyclic compounds; stereogenicity,
stereoselectivity, enantioselectivity, diastereoselectivity and
asymmetric induction.
3. Aromaticity: Benzenoid and non-benzenoid compounds
generation and reactions.
4. Organic reactive intermediates: Generation, stability and
reactivity of carbocations, carbanions, free radicals, carbenes,
benzynes and nitrenes.
5. Organic reaction mechanisms involving addition, elimination and
substitution reactions with electrophilic, nucleophilic or radical
species. Determination of reaction pathways.

8. Concepts in organic synthesis: Retrosynthesis, disconnection,

synthons, linear and convergent synthesis, umpolung of reactivity
and protecting groups.
9. Asymmetric synthesis: Chiral auxiliaries, methods of asymmetric
induction substrate, reagent and catalyst controlled reactions;
determination of enantiomeric and diastereomeric excess; enantiodiscrimination. Resolution optical and kinetic.
10. Pericyclic reactions electrocyclization, cycloaddition,
sigmatropic rearrangements and other related concerted reactions.
Principles and applications of photochemical reactions in organic
chemistry.
11. Synthesis and reactivity of common heterocyclic compounds
containing one or two hetero atoms (O, N, S).
12. Chemistry of natural products: Carbohydrates, proteins and
peptides, fatty acids, nucleic acids, terpenes, steroids and alkaloids.
Biogenesis of terpenoids and alkaloids.

13. Structure determination of organic compounds by IR, UV-Vis, 1

H & 13 C NMR and Mass spectroscopic techniques.

For Part-A, one can go through books on General Aptitude and

Logical Reasoning.

Interdisciplinary topics:

For Part-B, you need to be thorough in all the areas of chemistry

from 10+2 level to undergraduate level. Everything is important
here.

1. Chemistry in nanoscience and technology.

2. Catalysis and green chemistry.
3. Medicinal chemistry.
4. Supramolecular chemistry.
5. Environmental chemistry.
PREPARATION (OR) PLAN OF ACTION FOR CSIR UGC
NET EXAM
Most common question asked by students is "What should be the
plan of action to crack CSIR NET exam?" or "How should I prepare
for this exam?".
My sincere, but very simple, suggestion is to read standard
textbooks (see the list of suggested textbooks) and solve old
question papers of CSIR, GATE, IISc etc. If you are already done
with reading lots of classroom notes and other textbooks then start
with solving old question papers. This is the best way to crack any
exam.
What should be the plan of action?

For Part-C, choose any area of chemical sciences i.e, either organic
or inorganic or physical, depending on your taste and specialization
at PG level.
Always choose right books and solve the previous question papers
in a logical manner.
Few pupil are also asking for important topics/books, mostly for
Paper-C. Following is a possible combination of topics/books you
can choose.
Paper-A

Paper-B

10+2 NCERT
Chemistry
Books on General
Combination- Aptitude & logical
textbooks
1
+
reasoning
undergraduate level
chemistry books

Paper-C

Organic
Books

Combination2

-----do------

-----do------

Inorganic
Books

3) Inorganic chemistry by Miessler (I like this book for its simple

and straight forward explanation.)

Combination3

-----do------

-----do------

Physical
Books

4) Inorganic chemistry: Principles of structure and reactivity by

James E. Huheey (You will start appreciating inorganic chemistry
after reading this book. I enjoyed and learned a lot from this
fantastic text book.)

IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS RELATED TO

PREPARATION PLEASE GO THROUGH THE FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS SECTION.
SUGGESTED BOOKS FOR CSIR UGC NET & GATE
CHEMICAL SCIENCES
The best suggestion to crack any exam is to go through the
textbooks written by authorities in the respective fields. Following is
a list of textbooks in different areas of chemical sciences. Actual list
is very vast. However, it is better to go through only few books that
are followed by professors at our universities and IITs.

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY BOOKS

1) Inorganic chemistry by Shriver & Atkins (Suggested by most of
Indian Institutues of Technology. Solve the exercises given inside
and at the end of each chapter to master this subject.)
2) Inorganic chemistry by Catherine E. Housecroft (Another favorite
of IIT professors. The NCERT chemistry textbooks have the
material referenced from this book.)

5) Advanced inorganic chemistry by F. Albert Cotton & Geoffrey

Wilkinson (Must for an inorganic chemist. But you need lots of
patience to feel like a Jargon.)
6) The organometallic chemistry of the transition metals by Robert
H. Crabtree
7) NMR, NQR, EPR & MOSSBAUER Spectroscopy in inorganic
chemistry by R.V.Parish
8) Biological inorganic chemistry: An introduction by Robert
R.Chrichton
9) Bioinorganic chemistry: A short course by Rosette M. RoatMalone

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY BOOKS

1) Organic chemistry by Clayden, Greeves, Warren & Wothers (I
think already you know about this famous book. Not only written in

a lucid manner and is very important for those who dare to attempt
organic questions from part C of CSIR NET exam. Most of the
previous organic questions are straightly from this book. Just enjoy
reading this book and earn easy points.)

10) Advanced organic chemistry (Part A & B) by Francis A. Carey

& Richard J. Sundberg (Another reference book for organic
synthesis)
11) Named organic reactions by Thomas laue & Andreas Plagens

2) Modern methods of organic synthesis by William Carruthers &

Iain Coldham (Refer this book for advanced organic synthesis.
Another book from which most of the organic questions are dumped
into the exam.)
3) Organic chemistry by John McMurry (Must read for basics. Very
famous undergraduate book.)
4) Organic chemistry by L.G.Wade, JR (Another book for basics)
5) Advanced organic chemistry by J March (A must reference book)
6) Pericyclic reactions by Ian Fleming
7) Modern organic synthesis: An introduction by Michael H. Nantz
(Another good book with straight forward explanations)
8) Spectrometric identification of organic compounds by Robert M.
Silverstein
9) Introduction to organic photochemistry by John D. Coyle

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY BOOKS

1) Physical chemistry by P.W. Atkins & Julio De Paula (Read the
book. Solve the exercises & problems given. That is sufficient.)
2) Physical chemistry by Ira N. Levine
3) Physical chemistry by Robert G. Mortimer
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Analytical chemistry is not only one of the oldest but very
progressive scientific discipline. It plays a very stimulating and
essential role in the development of modern scientific and
technological world. It deals mostly with the chemical analysis and
separation techniques using electroanalytical, spectrochemical and
kinetic methods.
Analytical chemistry has not only stimulated the development of
many fields of science and technology like biology, medicine,
archeology, geology etc., and also heavily influenced by other

branches of science like nuclear physics, electronics,

instrumentation, material sciences etc.
Analytical chemistry is the chemical discipline that employs normal
to specialized techniques to gain information on the chemical
composition; structure of substances at macro level as well as at
molecular and atomic level; and also helps in separation of mixtures
of substances.
It addresses the problems associated with separation, identification,
speciation and quantification of substances.

Lassaigne's test to detect the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and

halogens in organic compounds

Preparation of Sodium Fusion Extract for Lassaigne's

test

Detection of nitrogen

Detection of sulfur

Lassaignes test is used to detect the presence of elements: Nitrogen

(N), Sulfur (S), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br) and Iodine (I). This test
involves following two steps.
i) preparation of sodium fusion extract (SFE).
ii) Detection of elements using SFE.

i) Preparation of SFE
A small amount of organic substance is fused with small quantity of
sodium metal in a fusion tube. The red hot fusion tube is then
plunged into distilled water and the contents are boiled for a few
minutes, then cooled and filtered.
The filtrate obtained is called sodium fusion extract (SFE) or
Lassaignes extract. It is usually alkaline. If it is not alkaline, a few
drops of NaOH solution may be added to make it alkaline.

ii) Detection of elements using SFE

Detection of halogens

Summary sheet
LASSAIGNE'S TEST

Thus obtained SFE is used to detect the presence of elements like

N,S,Cl, Br & I.
The elements in the organic compound react with sodium during
fusion reaction as follows:

Na + C + N ------------> NaCN
2Na + S ----------------> Na2S

(if N is present)
(if S is present)

Na + S + C + N --------> NaSCN (if both N & S are present

& insufficient amount of Na is used)
Na + X -------------------> NaX

Note: Conc. HCl is added to convert Ferrous hydroxide, a green

precipitate to ferrous chloride, which issoluble in water. Otherwise
the green precipitate may interfere with Prussian blue color.
Fe(OH)2 + 2HCl --------------> FeCl2 + 2H2O

(If halogens are present)

Where
When both N & S are present:
X = Cl/Br/I
Hence SFE may contain any of or all of ionic forms of respective
elements.
TEST FOR NITROGEN
To a portion of SFE, freshy prepared ferrous sulphate, FeSO 4
solution is added and warmed. Then about 2 to 3 drops of FeCl 3
solution are added and acidified with conc. HCl. The appearance of
a Prussian blue color indicates the presence of nitrogen.

However if both N & S are present in the organic compound and

SFE is prepared with insufficient amount of Na metal, the
thiocyanate (SCN-) is formed instead of cyanide ion (CN -). The
thiocyanate, SCN- reacts with Fe3+ to give a blood red coloration due
to formation of [Fe(SCN)]2+.
Fe3+ + SCN -------------> [Fe(SCN)]2+
Note: However, if sodium fusion is carried out with excess of
sodium, the thiocyanate, SCN- is decomposed to give CN & S2.
Hence in this case, sulfur and nitrogen are to be identified in
separate tests.
TEST FOR SULFUR
i) The appearance of a deep violet color upon addition of a few
drops of sodium nitroprusside to SFE indicates the presence of
sulfur.

ii) The formation of a pale yellow precipitate that is partially soluble

in NH4OH confirms the presence of bromine.
ii) Sulphur can also be detected by adding lead acetate to SFE,
acidified with acetic acid. The formation of a black precipitate (PbS)
indicates the presence of sulfur.
iii) Where as the formation of a yellow precipitate insoluble in
NH4OH confirms the presence of iodine in the organic compound.

TEST FOR HALOGENS

The sodium fusion extract, SFE can be used to detect the presence of
chlorine, bromine and iodine but not fluorine. To detect their
presence, the SFE is first acidified with HNO3 and then added with
AgNO3 solution.
i) The formation of a curdy white precipitate that is soluble in
NH4OH indicates the presence of chlorine in the organic compound.

Note:
1) It is not possible to detect the presence of fluorine since the
solubility of AgF is more and thus no precipitate is formed.
2) If nitrogen or sulfur are present in the organic compound, the
formation of black precipitates of AgCN or AgS may interfere
during the test for halogens. Hence the CN - and S2- have to be
removed from the SFE. This is done by boiling the SFE with conc.
HNO3 or glacial acetic acid to almost dryness. The CN - and S2- ions
are removed as HCN and H2S gases.

SUMMARY SHEET OF LASSAIGNE'S TEST

Test
Observation
Inference

SFE + FeSO4 +
FeCl3 + HCl

i) SFE + Sodium
nitroprusside

i) Nitrogen is
i) A prussian blue color is
confirmed.
formed.
ii) Both nitrogen
ii) Blood red coloration is
and sulfur are
observed.
confirmed.
i) A violet coloration is
observed.

ii) SFE + CH3COOH ii) A black precipitate is

+ Pb(CH3COO)2
formed.

Sulfur is
confirmed.

SFE + HNO3 +
AgNO3

i) A white ppt. soluble in

NH4OH is formed.
i) Chlorine is
confirmed.
ii) A pale yellow ppt.
partially soluble in
ii) Bromine is
NH4OH is formed.
confirmed.
iii) A yellow ppt.
insoluble in NH4OH is
formed.

iii) Iodine is
confirmed.