Established in 1954, the Department of Chemistry of Capital Normal University is provided with an excellent teacher team and advanced equipments, and so have solid strength in teaching and scientific research. Currently there is 1 academician employed from outside the universtiy, 6 professors and researchers, 24 associate professors, 8 docents, and 27 high or middle-rank experimenters. Among them, 11 are doctors or postdoctors, 1 tutor for doctoral students, and 10 tutors for master students. The department has the authority to award master's degree in three specialties, including analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and chemistry subject education, and recruits master students in 9 research directions. It also possesses advanced experimental instruments and equipments, has a school-level key laboratory, a basic chemical experiment center, a modern chemistry open laboratory, a modern education technology and network laboratory, and an analysis and test center, and has established a biological medical research center in the science and technology park of the university. Moreover, the department has a Beijing municipal key construction subject (analytical chemistry specialty) and a school-level key construction subject (physical chemistry specialty), and has assumed not a few key projects of the National Natural Fund, Beijing municipal government, Beijing Municipal Natural Science Fund, and the Ministry of Education as well as other transversal joint topics.

Physical chemistry

The physical chemistry subject has 3 professors and 7 associate professors, and among them 6 are tutors for master students, 2 are selected in Beijing municipal million talent program, 1 is Beijing municipal young subject leader, 1 is Beijing municipal young backbone teacher, and 2 are middle-aged or young subject leaders of Capital Normal University.

The subject has accomplished 1 state key sub-topic of the 8th five-year plan, 3 projects of the National Natural Science Fund, 5 projects of Beijing Municipal Natural Science Fund, 6 projects of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, 3 projects of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology, and 5 projects of state key laboratory. And has won 5 Beijing municipal prizes for advancement of science and technology, 1 second prize of Beijing municipal education & teaching achievements prize, 1 school-level first prize, 3 second prizes, 2 third prizes and 2 youth prizes of the university for scientific research, as well as 8 teaching achievement prizes. And has published over 250 academic articles, among which more than one hundred are included in SCI, and more than 10 monographs, and has claimed 7 articles of patents.

The projects being studied in the subject include 1 project of the National Natural Science Fund1, 3 projects of Beijing Municipal Natural Science Fund, 2 projects of the Subsidy Fund for Yong Backbone Teachers in Colleges and Universities of the Ministry of Education, 3 projects of the Natural Science Fund of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education, and 2 international exchange projects and state key laboratory projects of the National Natural Science Fund.

The main research directions are as follows:

1． Structural chemistry

(1) Research on the biomimetic synthesis, crystal structure, spectrum, and biological activity (e.g., anti-cancer, anti-tumour, etc.) of transition metals such as molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, and other metal complexes
(2) Research on the synthesis, crystal structure, spectrum and structural activity of optic electric magnetic functional molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium and other atom cluster compounds.
(3) Research on the synthesis, crystal structure, assembly and property of large-ring polyacid supermolecular complexes.
(4) Research on the synthesis, structure and catalytic activity of catalyzers.

2．Electrochemistry

(1) Structuring methods (self-assembly technology and L-B film technology) and characterization methods of molecular order system.
(2) Electrochmestry and nanometer electrochemistry of supermolecular system
(3) Research & development of the technology (electric flotation) and equipments used for decontamination of the wastewater produced by electric plating and other industries
(4) Research on the technological process and applications of diesel oil biological desulfurization
(5) Using electrochemical immunosensor to determine residual penicillin in milk.

Conditions and facilities for scientific research:

The synthesis laboratory can realize no water, no oxygen, constant temperature, low temperature, vacuum and inert gas protection, able to meet the requirements for synthesis. It is also equipped with large-scale equipments: Bruker Smart Apex single-crystal diffractometer, Fourier transformation infra-red spectrometer (platinum-Elmer, 1730), ultraviolet visible spectrometer (UV-265), elemental analyzer, (PE-2400), electrochemical AC impedor (M-378), heat analysis system (DT-40), ICP-AAS (ICP-8401), gas phase spectrograph and liquid phase spectrograph, electron microscope, fluorescence analyzer, and a good many 586 computers. Meanwhile, small instruments and facilities able to perform DNA cutting experiments are also provided.

The electrochemical laboratory has a USA EG&G PARCM388 electrochemical test system, which reaches the international level of the early 1990's, as well as advanced electrochemical apparatus such as electrochemical quartz crystal micro- balance, able to accomplish various electrochemical tests and researches on reaction mechanism. In addition, there are also some conventional test apparatus.