GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2026, Check GATE CY Important Topics, Download PDF

GATE Chemistry (CY) Syllabus 2026: The candidates who are preparing for the GATE 2026 Chemistry (CY) exam must go through the GATE Chemistry syllabus. IIT Guwahati has released the comprehensive syllabus for GATE 2026 Chemistry along with the official notification. This syllabus PDF outlines all the important topics that can be covered in the upcoming GATE Chemistry Paper. GATE Chemistry exam aspirants can check the detailed GATE CY syllabus with weightage here. We have also attached the GATE CY syllabus PDF in this article.

GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2026

The GATE syllabus for Chemistry (CY) 2026 is divided into three sections - Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. It is necessary for all the candidates who are going to appear in the GATE Chemistry 2026 exam that they must be well-versed with the GATE Chemistry syllabus before starting their preparation. Check the important topics, section-wise weightage for the GATE Chemistry syllabus.

GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2026 Section Wise 

The GATE Chemistry (CY) exam contains two parts, i.e. General Aptitude and core Chemistry subjects. The weightage of General Aptitude and core Chemistry is 15% and 85% respectively. The detailed list of topics of the GATE Chemistry syllabus is provided below.

Physical Chemistry

• 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: BornOppenheimer 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.

• Group Theory: Symmetry elements and operations; Point groups and character tables; Internal coordinates and vibrational modes; symmetry adapted linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO-MO); construction of hybrid orbitals using symmetry aspects.

• 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.

• 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. Clausius Clapeyron 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.

• Kinetics: 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.

• 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.

Inorganic Chemistry

• 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 acidbase catalysis).

• 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.

• Lanthanides and Actinides: Recovery. Periodic properties, spectra and magnetic properties. 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.

• Radioactivity: Detection of radioactivity, Decay processes, half-life of radioactive elements, fission and fusion processes.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Organic Chemistry

• 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.

• 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 labeling. 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

• 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).

• 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.

• Heterocyclic Compounds: Structure, preparation, properties and reactions of furan, pyrrole, thiophene, pyridine, indole, quinoline and isoquinoline.

• 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. 

• Experimental Techniques in Organic Chemistry: Optical rotation (polarimetry). Applications of various chromatographic techniques such as thin-layer, column, HPLC and GC. Applications of UV-visible, IR, NMR and Mass spectrometry in the structural determination of organic molecules. 

GATE Chemistry Syllabus 2026: Official PDF

The GATE Chemistry 2026 exam will be organised by IIT Guwahati this year. The official GATE Chemistry syllabus PDF has been released on the official website. The direct link to download the official syllabus PDF is provided below.

GATE Chemistry Syllabus: Section-wise weightage

In the GATE Chemistry exam, the composition comprises 15% for General Aptitude and 85% for the Chemistry subject. Although the distribution of topics within the GATE Chemistry syllabus varies every year, we have compiled the section-wise weightage of the exam by analysing past year's papers. This compilation will provide insights into the important topics of the GATE Chemistry syllabus and help you to make preparation strategies for the exam.

How to Prepare the GATE Chemistry (CY) Syllabus 2026?

The candidates need to follow a well-planned approach to crack the GATE exam. Here, we are giving you some tips for GATE preparation for the Chemistry (CY) paper.

• Understand the Syllabus: The candidates must thoroughly review the complete GATE Chemistry syllabus. Point out the important GATE Chemistry topics, giving priority to those needing more attention. Create a study plan around these priorities.

• Create a Study Schedule: Once you go through the syllabus, create a study plan that covers all the topics mentioned in the GATE Chemistry syllabus. According to your strengths and weaknesses, allocate ample time to each subject/topic.

• Focus on Fundamental Understanding: Alwaysfocus on understanding the core principles of each topic. Only memorising things will not be enough for this exam. 

• Create Revision Notes: Create short revision notes with important formulas, concepts, and important points for quick last-minute review.

• Practice Previous Year Papers: Solve previous years' papers to understand the exam pattern and question types asked in the GATE Chemistry exam. This will give you an idea about important topics and also help in identifying the areas that require improvement.

• Take Mock Tests: The candidates must take enough mock tests to get familiar with the real exam environment. After each mock test, you should analyse your performance and work on improving it. This practice will also help to improve time management abilities.

Best Books to Prepare the GATE Chemistry (CY) Syllabus 2026

The selection of study material is very crucial in the preparation for the GATE Chemistry exam. A list of highly recommended books for the GATE Chemistry syllabus paper is given below.

1. Organic Chemistry by Avinash More

2. Inorganic Chemistry by Tauheed Nadeem

3. Physical Chemistry by  Peter Atkins

4. Gate Chapterwise Solved Papers by Dr Sanjay Saxena & Preeti Gupta

GATE Chemistry (CY) Exam Pattern 

The GATE Chemistry paper contains questions based on General Aptitude and Chemistry. The GATE Chemistry exam has 65 questions with a total of 100 marks. The total allotted time for this online exam is 3 hours. The GATE Chemistry paper consists of multiple-choice questions, multiple-select questions, and numerical-answer-type questions. All the important details about the GATE exam pattern for Chemistry are given in the table below.