A molecular theory for the thermodynamic behavior of polar mixtures. II. Development of an equation of state based on the local composition mixing rules

In this study, the essential features of a molecular theory developed earlier for the local composition model in solution thermodynamics is used as the basis for more applied calculations of vapor-liquid equilibria for mixtures of molecules vastly different in size, polarity, and strength of interaction. An accurate equation of state is introduced into the method by incorporating the Helmholtz free energy through the Gibbs-Helmholtz relation. In the local composition mixing rules, the interaction energy effects are represented by a multifluid model, while molecular size effects are represented by a one-fluid model, which in spirit corresponds to a mean density approximation for the molecular pair distribution functions. Calculations of the vapor-liquid equilibria of a wide variety of binary mixtures including nonpolar hydrocarbons, hydrogen-bonding alcohols, water, ammonia , and carbon dioxide show good agreement with experimental data.     

Role of local environment relaxation in calculating the rates of elementary processes in vapor-liquid systems

The role of local environment relaxation is studied in calculating the rates of elementary processes in vapor-liquid systems consisting of dipole molecules. It is accepted that the intermolecular interaction potential of reaction system components includes dipole-dipole and Lennard-Jones terms. Two limiting cases of short and long characteristic times of an elementary reaction are considered relative to the thermal progressive and rotational motions of neighboring dipole molecules. It is shown that the condition of long characteristic times for elementary reactions that correspond to the concept of activated complex activity distorts the properties of a system. Good correspondence is obtained for the temperature dependence of the water self-diffusion coefficient.     

Trimer based polarization as a multibody molecular model. Application to hydrogen fluoride

A molecular modeling approach is introduced as a way to treat multibody (more than two molecules) contributions to the intermolecular potential. There are two key features to the method. First, it employs polarizable electrostatics on the molecules, but converges the charges and fields for only three molecules at a time, taken separately for all trimers (three molecules falling within a cutoff distance) in the system. This feature introduces significant computational savings when applied in Monte Carlo simulation (in comparison to a full N-body polarization treatment), as movement of a single molecule does not require re-converging of the polarization of all molecules, and it achieves this without approximations that cause the value of the energy to depend on the history of the simulation. Second, the approach defines the polarization energy in excess of the pairwise contribution, meaning that the trimer energy has subtracted from it the sum of the energies obtained by converging the polarization of each molecule pair in the trimer. This feature is advantageous because it removes the need (often found in polarizable models) to stiffen inappropriately the repulsive part of the pair potential. The polarization contribution is thus a purely three-body potential. The approach is applied to model hydrogen fluoride, which in experiments exhibits unusual properties that have proven difficult to capture well by molecular models. The new HF model is shown to be much more successful than previous modeling efforts in obtaining agreement with a broad range of experimental data (volumetric properties, heat effects, molecular structure, and vapor-liquid equilibria).     

Considering induced dipoles in a discrete model of a polar liquid

The lattice gas model is generalized to describe the equilibrium distributions of polar solution components with allowance for Lennard-Jones and dipole-dipole potential interactions with constant and induced moments. It is shown that including induced dipoles potential results in an effective many-particle interaction potential, depending on the spatial distribution of solution components. The distributions of all solution components are calculated in a quasi-chemical approximation allowing for the spatial correlation of interacting particles. A procedure for reducing the dimensionality of a set of algebraic equations is considered, and expressions for vapor-liquid equilibrium isotherms are obtained. Expressions for the rates of elementary mono- and bimolecular chemical reactions are derived using the transition state theory in systems with induced dipoles for rapidly overcoming the activation barrier in the permanent state of solvent molecules’ atomic subsystems. Ways of considering the internal motions (vibrations, rotation, and displacements) of molecules in a polar liquid are discussed.     

Lattice model of a polar liquid

The molecular model of a polar liquid based on the lattice gas theory was used to study the liquid—gas phase equilibrium. In this theory, the key unknown variables are the probabilities of various mutual pair positions of the molecules. The molecules are considered as non-polarizable point dipoles. The intermolecular interaction potential includes a dipole—dipole component depending on the molecular orientation and the Lennard-Jones contribution stabilizing the system with dipole interactions. The theory provides qualitative agreement with experimental data on the water—vapor equilibrium.     

Interaction potentials and free energies for ferroelectric liquid crystals in the model of polar non-uniaxial molecules

The possible forms of the model interaction potentials are proposed for rigid polar non-uniaxial molecules with the molecular dipole moment making an arbitrary angle with the molecule's long axis. The molecule orientation is described by the direction of two molecular axes: its dipole moment and the long axis. The intermolecular potentials dependent on both molecular axes orientations are considered. The simple model interaction potentials between chiral molecules are used. It is shown that the form of the interaction potential determines the set of the relevant order parameters of the system. The free energy is calculated in the Landau expansion form in terms of the relevant order parameters.     

A theory of a curved vapor-liquid separation boundary: The lattice gas model

Molecular theory of curved vapor-liquid interphase boundaries was considered in terms of the lattice gas model. The theory uses the quasi-thermodynamic concept of curved layers of a separation boundary with a large radius. The transition from a rectangular lattice to such layers is performed by the introduction of a variable number of the nearest neighbors. The problems (1) of the transition from distributed molecular models to layer models reflecting macroscopic symmetry of the interphase boundary and (2) of a minimum linear size of the surface region to which thermodynamic approaches are applicable were considered. Equations for the quasi-equilibrium distribution of molecules at the vapor-liquid boundary in a metastable system were constructed in the quasi-chemical approximation taking into account direct correlations between the nearest interacting molecules. A metastable state is maintained by a pressure jump described by the macro-scopic Laplace equation on a separation surface inside the interphase region. Equations for local mean pressure values and normal and tangential pressure tensor components inside the interphase region were constructed. These equations were used to obtain microscopic difference mechanical equilibrium equations for curved boundaries of spherical and cylindrical drops in the metastable state. The relation between the micro-scopic difference mechanical equilibrium equations and similar differential equations and the macroscopic Laplace equation, which described pressure jump in a metastable system, was considered. Various definitions of surface tension are discussed.     

Molecular dynamics simulation study of superhydrated perdeuterated natrolite using a new interaction potential model

To test a new interaction potential, molecular dynamics simulations of zeolite natrolite were performed for the structures under ambient conditions hydrated by perdeuterated water and at high pressure (1.87 GPa) in the superhydrated phase, which were recently studied by neutron diffraction. The experimental structures were reproduced with reasonable accuracy, and the hydrogen bond features are discussed. As in ordinary natrolite, a flip motion of water molecules around the HOH bisector is found, which, together with translational oscillations, gives rise to transient hydrogen bonds between water molecules, which do not appear from experimental equilibrium coordinates. The dynamics of water molecules can explain some problems encountered in refining the experimental structure. Vibrational spectra of natrolite containing perdeuterated water, which are not yet measured, were simulated, and their qualitative trend is discussed.     

A general perturbation approach for equation of state development: applications to simple fluids, ab initio potentials, and fullerenes

A new perturbation scheme based on the Barker-Henderson perturbation theory [J. Chem. Phys. 47, 4714 (1967)] is proposed to predict the thermodynamic properties of spherical molecules. Accurate predictions of second virial coefficients and vapor-liquid coexistence properties are obtained for a large variety of potential functions (square well, Yukawa, Sutherland, Lennard-Jones, Buckingham, Girifalco). New Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of the generalized exp-m Buckingham potential are reported. An extension of the perturbation approach to mixtures is proposed, and excellent predictions of vapor-liquid equilibria are obtained for Lennard-Jones mixtures. The perturbation scheme can be applied to complex potential functions fitted to ab initio data to predict the properties of real molecules such as neon. The new approach can also be used as an auxiliary tool in molecular simulation studies, to efficiently optimize an intermolecular potential on macroscopic properties or match force fields based on different potential functions.     

Interaction potentials and free energies for ferroelectric liquid crystals in the model of polar non-uniaxial molecules

Abstract

The possible forms of the model interaction potentials are proposed for rigid polar non-uniaxial molecules with the molecular dipole moment making an arbitrary angle with the molecule's long axis. The molecule orientation is described by the direction of two molecular axes: its dipole moment and the long axis. The intermolecular potentials dependent on both molecular axes orientations are considered. The simple model interaction potentials between chiral molecules are used. It is shown that the form of the interaction potential determines the set of the relevant order parameters of the system. The free energy is calculated in the Landau expansion form in terms of the relevant order parameters.     

Molecular analysis of small drops in a metastable vapor

The molecular theory of curved vapor-liquid interfaces within the lattice gas model is applied to analyze supersaturated vapor states in dependence on the new phase size and system temperature. The molecular interaction is considered in the quasi-chemical approximation which describes effects of direct correlations of the nearest molecules. Two methods for determining the surface tension are discussed: equimolecular and according to the surface tension minimum in the intermediate region, i.e., on the tension surface. It is shown that a tension surface exists for metastable drops in supersaturated vapor over the temperature range, but its use leads to multivaluedness of solutions for its position; the minimum range of the existence of metastable drops is close to the previously determined lower limit for equilibrium.     

Does water condense in carbon pores?

Using grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations of molecular models, we investigate the nature of water adsorption and desorption in slit pores with graphitelike surfaces. Special emphasis is placed on the question of whether water exhibits capillary condensation (i.e., condensation when the external pressure is below the bulk vapor pressure). Three models of water have been considered. These are the SPC and SPC/E models and a model where the hydrogen bonding is described by tetrahedrally coordinated square-well association sites. The water-carbon interaction was described by the Steele 10-4-3 potential. In addition to determining adsorption/desorption isotherms, we also locate the states where vapor-liquid equilibrium occurs for both the bulk and confined states of the models. We find that for wider pores (widths >1 nm), condensation does not occur in the GCMC simulations until the pressure is higher than the bulk vapor pressure, P0. This is consistent with a physical picture where a lack of hydrogen bonding with the graphite surface destabilizes dense water phases relative to the bulk. For narrow pores where the slit width is comparable to the molecular diameter, strong dispersion interactions with both carbon surfaces can stabilize dense water phases relative to the bulk so that pore condensation can occur for P < P0 in some cases. For the narrowest pores studied--a pore width of 0.6 nm--pore condensation is again shifted to P > P0. The phase-equilibrium calculations indicate vapor-liquid coexistence in the slit pores for P < P0 for all but the narrowest pores. We discuss the implications of our results for interpreting water adsorption/desorption isotherms in porous carbons.     

Adsorption of water on sodium chloride surfaces: electrostatics – guided ab initio studies

Water adsorption is studied on medium-sized clusters of sodium chloride representing (100) and (110) surfaces at the ab initio level. Topographical features of molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) have been employed for predicting the potent sites for binding of one to four water molecules on these surfaces. Such guess geometries are initially optimized using an electrostatics-based model, electrostatic potential for intermolecular complexation (EPIC) and further at the Hartree–Fock and B3LYP/6-31G(d, p) levels. The corresponding interaction energies are examined for assessing co-operative binding effects. The geometry and interaction energy of four water molecules adsorbed on NaCl(100) clearly brings out the co-operative binding among the water molecules. Further, water binding to (110) surface is stronger than that with (100) surface. This is also in confirmation with the electrostatic properties of (110) surface. Many-body decomposition analysis brings out the stronger interaction between NaCl clusters with water molecules vis-a-vis water–water interaction.     

Effects of bundling on the properties of the SPC water model

Simultaneous representation of molecules at an all-atom and coarse-grained level, as required by multiscaling molecular dynamics simulations, poses problems for the treatment of small molecules. If more than one of these molecules are mapped to a single coarse-grained interaction site, unrestricted movement in the all-atom representation can make a meaningful correspondence of the coordinates between the two representations impossible. Restricting the relative movement of molecules mapped to the same coarse-grained interaction site solves that problem, but will have consequences for the properties of the model. Here we investigate the effects of introducing bundling to the common simple point charge (SPC) water model and present a bundled water model that preserves important properties of SPC water relevant for multiscaling.     

由L-J流体的FMSA状态方程计算流体的PVT性质

运用Tang等提出的Lennard-Jones (L-J)流体两参数的一阶平均球形近似(FMSA)状态方程, 计算了流体的汽液共存相图和饱和蒸汽压曲线, 以及非饱和区的PVT性质, 并与文献数据进行比较. L-J参数由Tr＜0.95的汽液相共存数据回归得到. 计算结果表明, 对于分子较接近球形的流体, 除临界点附近外, 该方程可以在较大的温度和压力范围内计算真实流体的PVT性质, 结果满意. 对于球形分子, 该方程的精确度随分子尺寸的变大基本保持稳定. 该方程不适用于强极性物质. 在高密度区, 该方程的计算结果明显优于P-R方程. 对于分子偏离球形较远的流体, 该方程的适用性变差, 此时要考虑分子形状的影响, 可采用三参数的FMSA状态方程进行计算.     

Analyzing the density fluctuation effect on molecular distributions in small drops

The characteristics of a vapor-liquid interface are calculated using the lattice gas model applied to the analysis of the states of metastable supersaturated vapor, depending on the size of a liquid drop and the system temperature. The interaction of molecules is considered in a quasi-chemical approximation describing the effects of direct correlations of nearby molecules. It is found that considering the density fluctuation increases the drop radius, corresponding to the condition of the generation of a new phase.     

Structure of the liquid-vapor interface of water-methanol mixtures as seen from Monte Carlo simulations

Monte Carlo simulation of the vapor-liquid interface of water-methanol mixtures of different compositions, ranging from pure water to pure methanol, have been performed on the canonical (N, V, T) ensemble at 298 K. The analysis of the systems simulated has revealed that the interface is characterized by a double layer structure: methanol is strongly adsorbed at the vapor side of the interface, whereas this adsorption layer is followed at its liquid side by a depletion layer of methanol of lower concentration than in the bulk liquid phase of the system. The dominant feature of the interface has been found to be the adsorption layer in systems of methanol mole fractions below 0.2, and the depletion layer in systems of methanol mole fractions between 0.25 and 0.5. The orientation of the molecules located at the depletion layer is found to be already uncorrelated with the interface, whereas the methanol molecules of the adsorption layer prefer to align perpendicular to the interface, pointing straight toward the vapor phase by their methyl group. Although both the preference of the molecular plane for a perpendicular alignment with the interface and the preference of the methyl group for pointing straight to the vapor phase are found to be rather weak, the preference of the methyl group for pointing as straight toward the vapor phase as possible within the constraint imposed by the orientation of the molecular plane is found to be fairly strong. One of the two preferred orientations of the interfacial water molecules present in the neat system is found to disappear in the presence of methanol, because methanol molecules aligned in their preferred orientation can replace these water molecules in the hydrogen-bonding pattern of the interface.     

Theoretical method for full ab initio calculation of DNA/RNA-ligand interaction energy

In this paper, we further develop the molecular fractionation with conjugate caps (MFCC) scheme for quantum mechanical computation of DNA-ligand interaction energy. We study three oligonuclear acid interaction systems: dinucleotide dCG/water, trinucleotide dCGT/water, and a Watson-Crick paired DNA segment, dCGT/dGCA. Using the basic MFCC approach, the nucleotide chains are cut at each phosphate group and a pair of conjugate caps (concaps) are inserted. Five cap molecules have been tested among which the dimethyl phosphate anion is proposed to be the standard concap for application. For each system, one-dimensional interaction potential curves are computed using the MFCC method and the calculated interaction energies are found to be in excellent agreement with corresponding results obtained from the full system ab initio calculations. The current study extends the application of the MFCC method to ab initio calculations for DNA- or RNA-ligand interaction energies.     

Surface tension and vapor-liquid phase coexistence of confined square-well fluid

Phase equilibria of a square-well fluid in planar slit pores with varying slit width are investigated by applying the grand-canonical transition-matrix Monte Carlo (GC-TMMC) with the histogram-reweighting method. The wall-fluid interaction strength was varied from repulsive to attractive such that it is greater than the fluid-fluid interaction strength. The nature of the phase coexistence envelope is in agreement with that given in literature. The surface tension of the vapor-liquid interface is calculated via molecular dynamics simulations. GC-TMMC with finite size scaling is also used to calculate the surface tension. The results from molecular dynamics and GC-TMMC methods are in very good mutual agreement. The vapor-liquid surface tension, under confinement, was found to be lower than the bulk surface tension. However, with the increase of the slit width the surface tension increases. For the case of a square-well fluid in an attractive planar slit pore, the vapor-liquid surface tension exhibits a maximum with respect to wall-fluid interaction energy. We also report estimates of critical properties of confined fluids via the rectilinear diameter approach.