Enhancing the hydrophobic effect in confined water nanodrops

The distribution of hydrophobic solutes, such as methane, enclosed in a nanosized water droplet contained in a reverse micelle of diameter 2.82 nm is investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. The effect of the hydrophobic solute's atomic diameter on the solute-solute potential of mean force is also studied. The study reveals that confinement has a strong influence on the solute's tendency to associate. The potential of mean force exhibits only a single minimum, indicating that the contact pair is the only stable configuration between solutes. The solvent-separated pair that is universally observed for small solutes in bulk water is conspicuously absent. This enhanced hydrophobic effect is attributed to the lack of sufficient water to completely hydrate and stabilize the solvent-separated configurations. The study is expected to be important in understanding the role of hydrophobic forces during protein folding and nucleation under confinement.     

Ab initio molecular dynamics studies of ionic dissolution and precipitation of sodium chloride and silver chloride in water clusters, NaCl(H2O)n and AgCl(H2O)n, n = 6, 10, and 14

An ab initio molecular dynamics method was used to compare the ionic dissolution of soluble sodium chloride (NaCl) in water clusters with the highly insoluble silver chloride (AgCl). The investigations focused on the solvation structures, dynamics, and energetics of the contact ion pair (CIP) and of the solvent-separated ion pair (SSIP) in NaCl(H(2)O)(n) and AgCl(H(2)O)(n) with cluster sizes of n = 6, 10 and 14. We found that the minimum cluster size required to stabilize the SSIP configuration in NaCl(H(2)O)(n) is temperature-dependent. For n = 6, both configurations are present as two distinct local minima on the free-energy profile at 100 K, whereas SSIP is unstable at 300 K. Both configurations, separated by a low barrier (<10 kJ mol(-1)), are identifiable on the free energy profiles of NaCl(H(2)O)(n) for n = 10 and 14 at 300 K, with the Na(+)/Cl(-) pairs being internally solvated in the water cluster and the SSIP configuration being slightly higher in energy (<5 kJ mol(-1)). In agreement with the low bulk solubility of AgCl, no SSIP minimum is observed on the free-energy profiles of finite AgCl(H(2)O)(n) clusters. The AgCl interaction is more covalent in nature, and is less affected by the water solvent. Unlike NaCl, AgCl is mainly solvated on the surface in finite water clusters, and ionic dissolution requires a significant reorganization of the solvent structure.     

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations on ion pair-water complexes of metal halides and oxides

Ab initio MO calculations are performed on a series of ion-molecular and ion pair-molecular complexes of H₂O + MX (MX = LiF, LiCl, NaCl, BeO and MgO) systems. BSSE-corrected stabilization energies, optimized geometrical parameters, internal force constants and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been evaluated for all the structures of interest. The trends observed in the geometrical parameters and other properties calculated for the mono-hydrated contact ion pair complexes parallel those computed for the complexes of the individual ions. The bifurcated structures are found to be saddle points with an imaginary frequency corresponding to the rocking mode of water molecules. The solventshared ion pair complexes have high interaction energies. Trends in the internal force constant and harmonic frequency values are discussed in terms of ion-molecular and ion-pair molecular interactions.     

Characterization of the solvation and transport of the hydrated proton in the perfluorosulfonic acid membrane nafion

The solvation and transport properties of the sulfonate-hydronium ion pair have been studied in hydrated Nafion through molecular dynamics simulation. Explicit proton and charge delocalization of the excess proton transport, via the Grotthuss hopping mechanism, were treated using the self-consistent multistate empirical valence bond (SCI-MS-EVB) method. The nature of the sulfonate-hydronium ion pair was characterized through analysis of free-energy profiles. It was found that, in general, the excess proton is solvated between two water molecules of a Zundel moiety while in the contact ion pair position, but then it transitions to an Eigen-like configuration in the solvent-separated pair position. Furthermore, the positive charge associated with the excess proton passes between the contact and solvent-separated ion pair positions through the Grotthuss mechanism rather than simple vehicular diffusion. The total proton diffusion was decomposed into vehicular and Grotthuss components and were found to be of the same relative magnitude, but with a strong negative correlation resulting in a smaller overall diffusion. Correlated motions between the ion pair were examined through the distinct portion of the van Hove correlation function, and a characteristic time scale of approximately 425 ps was observed. Additionally, the association of the hydrated proton with the hydrophobic polymer backbone suggests its amphiphile-like behavior (see Acc. Chem. Res. 2006, 39, 143; Phys. Rev. 1954, 95, 249; J. Chem. Phys. 2005, 123, 084309).     

Monte Carlo simulations of the hydrophobic effect in aqueous electrolyte solutions

The hydrophobic interaction between two methane molecules in salt-free and high salt-containing aqueous solutions and the structure in such solutions have been investigated using an atomistic model solved by Monte Carlo simulations. Monovalent salt representing NaCl and divalent salt with the same nonelectrostatic properties as the monovalent salt have been used to examine the influence of the valence of the salt species. In salt-free solution the effective interaction between the two methane molecules displayed a global minimum at close contact of the two methane molecules and a solvent-separated secondary minimum. In 3 and 5 M monovalent salt solution the potential of mean force became slightly more attractive, and in a 3 M divalent salt solution the attraction became considerably stronger. The structure of the aqueous solutions was determined by radial distribution functions and angular probability functions. The distortion of the native water structure increased with ion valence. The increase of the hydrophobic attraction was associated with (i) a breakdown of the tetrahedral structure formed by neighboring water molecules and of the hydrogen bonds between them and (i) the concomitant increase of the solution density.     

Effective interaction potentials for alkali and alkaline earth metal ions in SPC/E water and prediction of mean ion activity coefficients

The potential of mean force (PMF) acting between two simple ions surrounded by SPC/E water have been determined by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using a spherical cavity approach. Such effective ion-ion potentials were obtained for Me-Me, Me-Cl-, and Cl(-)-Cl- pairs, where Me is a Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+ cation. The ionic sizes estimated from the effective potentials are not pairwise additive, a feature in the frequently used primitive model for electrolytes. The effective potentials were used in Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with implicit water to calculate mean ion activity coefficients of LiCl, NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, SrCl2, and BaCl2. Predicted activities were compared with experimental ones in the electrolyte concentration range 0.1-1 M. A qualitative agreement for LiCl and a satisfactory agreement for NaCl were found, whereas the predictions for KCl by two K+ models were less coherent. In the case of alkaline earth metal ions, all experimental activities were successfully reproduced at c = 0.1 M. However, at higher concentrations, similar deviations occurred for all divalent cations, suggesting that the dependence of the permittivity on the salt concentration and the polarization deficiency arising from the ordering of water molecules in the ion hydration shells are important in such systems.     

Surfaces affect ion pairing

In water, positive ions attract negative ions. That attraction can be modulated if a hydrophobic surface is present near the two ions in water. Using computer simulations with explicit and implicit water, we study how an ion embedded on a hydrophobic surface interacts with another nearby ion in water. Using hydrophobic surfaces with different curvatures, we find that the contact interaction between a positive and negative ion is strongly affected by the curvature of an adjacent surface, either stabilizing or destabilizing the ion pair. We also find that the solvent-separated ion pair (SSIP) can be made more stable than the contacting ion pair by the presence of a surface. This may account for why bridging waters are often found in protein crystal structures. We also note that implicit solvent models do not account for SSIPs. Finally, we find that there are charge asymmetries: an embedded positive charge attracting a negative ion is different than an embedded negative charge attracting a positive ion. Such asymmetries are also not predicted by implicit solvent models. These results may be useful for improving computational models of solvation in biology and chemistry.     

Microsolvation of the sodium and iodide ions and their ion pair in acetonitrile clusters: a theoretical study

The structural and thermodynamic properties of Na+(CH3CN)n, I-(CH3CN)n, and NaI(CH3CN)n clusters have been investigated by means of room-temperature Monte Carlo simulations with model potentials developed to reproduce the properties of small clusters predicted by quantum chemistry. Ions are found to adopt an interior solvation shell structure, with a first solvation shell containing approximately 6 and approximately 8 acetonitrile molecules for large Na+(CH3CN)n and I-(CH3CN)n clusters, respectively. Structural features of Na+(CH3CN)n are found to be similar to those of Na+(H2O)n clusters, but those of I-(CH3CN)n contrast with those of I-(H2O)n, for which "surface" solvation structures were observed. The potential of mean force calculations demonstrates that the NaI ion pair is thermodynamically stable with respect to ground-state ionic dissociation in acetonitrile clusters. The properties of NaI(CH3CN)n clusters exhibit some similarities with NaI(H2O)n clusters, with the existence of contact ion pair and solvent-separated ion pair structures, but, in contrast to water clusters, both types of ion pairs adopt a well-defined interior ionic solvation shell structure in acetonitrile clusters. Whereas contact ion pair species are thermodynamically favored in small clusters, solvent-separated ion pairs tend to become thermodynamically more stable above a cluster size of approximately 26. Hence, ground-state charge separation appears to occur at larger cluster sizes for acetonitrile clusters than for water clusters. We propose that the lack of a large Na+(CH3CN)n product signal in NaI(CH3CN)n multiphoton ionization experiments could arise from extensive stabilization of the ground ionic state by the solvent and possible inhibition of the photoexcitation mechanism, which may be less pronounced for NaI(H2O)n clusters because of surface solvation structures. Alternatively, increased solvent evaporation resulting from larger excess energies upon photoexcitation or major solvent reorganization on the ionized state could account for the observed solvent-selectivity in NaI cluster multiphoton ionization.     

Interaction of water with LiCl, LiBr, and LiI in the deeply supercooled region

The hydration mechanism of lithium halides was studied using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry as a function of temperature. The lithium halides embedded in thin films of amorphous solid water segregate to the surface at temperatures higher than 135-140 K, with efficiency increasing in the order of LiCl, LiBr, and LiI. A monolayer of LiCl and LiI adsorbed on the surface of amorphous solid water tends to diffuse into the bulk at 160 K. The infrared absorption band revealed that the aqueous lithium-halide solutions and crystals are formed simultaneously at 160 K; these phenomena are explicable as a consequence of the evolution of supercooled liquid water. The strong surfactant effect is inferred to arise from hydration of a contact ion pair having hydrophilic (lithium) and hydrophobic (halide) moieties. Furthermore, bulk diffusion of lithium halides might result from the formation of a solvent-separated ion pair in supercooled liquid water. The presence of two liquid phases of water with different local structures is probably responsible for the formation of these two hydrates, consistent with the calculated result reported by Jungwirth and Tobias[J. Phys. Chem. B 106, 6361 (2002)].     

Local order in aqueous NaCl solutions and pure water: X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics simulations study

The microstructures of pure water and aqueous NaCl solutions over a wide range of salt concentrations (0-4 m) under ambient conditions are characterized by X-ray scattering and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD simulations are performed with the rigid SPC water model as a solvent, while the ions are treated as charged Lennard-Jones particles. Simulated data show that the first peaks in the O...O and O...H pair correlation functions clearly decrease in height with increasing salt concentration. Simultaneously, the location of the second O...O peak, the signature of the so-called tetrahedral structure of water, gradually disappears. Consequently, the degree of hydrogen bonding in liquid water decreases when compared to pure fluid. MD results also show that the hydration number around the cation decreases as the salt concentration increases, which is most likely because some water molecules in the first hydration shell are occasionally substituted by chlorine. In addition, the fraction of contact ion pairs increases and that of solvent-separated ion pairs decreases. Experimental data are analyzed to deduce the structure factors and the pair correlation functions of each system. X-ray results clearly show a perturbation of the association structure of the solvent and highlight the appearance of new interactions between ions and water. A model of intermolecular arrangement via MD results is then proposed to describe the local order in each system, as deduced from X-ray scattering data.     

A molecular dynamics study of alkaline earth metal-chloride complexation in aqueous solution

The relative stability of alkaline earth metals (M2+ = Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+) and their chloride complexes in aqueous solution is examined through molecular dynamics simulations using a flexible SPC water model with an internally consistent set of metal ion force field parameters. For each metal-chloride ion pair in aqueous solution, the free energy profile was calculated via potential of mean force simulations. The simulations provide detailed thermodynamic information regarding the relative stability of the different types of metal-chloride pairs. The free energy profiles indicate that the preference for contact ion pair formation increases with ionic radius and is closely related to the metal hydration free energies. The water residence times within the first hydration shells are in agreement with residence times reported in other computational studies. Calculated association constants suggest an increase in metal-chloride complexation with increasing cation radii that is inconsistent with experimentally observed trends. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of pressure effects on hydrophobic interactions.

We report results on the pressure effects on hydrophobic interactions obtained from molecular dynamics simulations of aqueous solutions of methanes in water. A wide range of pressures that is relevant to pressure denaturation of proteins is investigated. The characteristic features of water-mediated interactions between hydrophobic solutes are found to be pressure-dependent. In particular, with increasing pressure we find that (1) the solvent-separated configurations in the solute-solute potential of mean force (PMF) are stabilized with respect to the contact configurations; (2) the desolvation barrier increases monotonically with respect to both contact and solvent-separated configurations; (3) the locations of the minima and the barrier move toward shorter separations; and (4) pressure effects are considerably amplified for larger hydrophobic solutes. Together, these observations lend strong support to the picture of the pressure denaturation process proposed previously by Hummer et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1998, 95, 1552): with increasing pressure, the transfer of water into protein interior becomes key to the pressure denaturation process, leading to the dissociation of close hydrophobic contacts and subsequent swelling of the hydrophobic protein interior through insertions of water molecules. The pressure dependence of the PMF between larger hydrophobic solutes shows that pressure effects on the interaction between hydrophobic amino acids may be considerably amplified compared to those on the methane-methane PMF.     

Mechanisms for ion retention in molecular water clusters in a planar nanopore against the background of thermal fluctuations

The Monte Carlo method has been used to calculate the potential of mean force for Na⁺ and Cl^? ions interacting in model planar nanopores with structureless walls under the conditions of the material contact with water vapor at room temperature and above water boiling point. The interactions have been described using a detailed many-body model calibrated with respect to experimental data on the free energy of attachment reactions and the results of quantum-chemical calculations. Dissociation becomes possible when the vapor density increases as a sufficient number of molecules are pulled into the field of the ions. The dissociation proceeds sooner under the conditions of the nanopore than in bulk water vapor. Hydration decreases the energy of the dissociated state; however, the entropy component of the free energy partly compensates for the decrease in the internal energy, thereby increasing the stability of a contact ion pair. After the dissociation of a contact ion pair (CIP), ions are retained within a cluster in the state of a solvent-separated ion pair (SSIP). Fluctuations in the number of pulled-in vapor molecules, which are correlated with fluctuations in the interionic distance, stabilize the SSIP states with respect to recombination, while a decrease in the screening of the field of ions under the conditions of the nanopore stabilize the SSIP states with respect to cluster decay. The conditions of the nanopore stimulate the passage of an ion pair from the CIP to the SSIP state due to the rearrangement of the statistical weights in favor of molecules being located in the interionic gap. Thus, under the conditions of the nanopore, the stability of the SSIP states increases with respect to both the recombination of the ions and the decay of the ion-molecular associate.     

Hydrogen bonding mediated ion pairs of some aprotic ionic liquids and their structural transition in aqueous solution

Ion pair speciation of ionic liquids(ILs) has an important effect on the physical and chemical properties of ILs and recognition of the structure of ion pairs in solution is essential. It has been reported that ion pairs of some ILs can be formed by hydrogen bonding interactions between cations and anions of them. Considering the fact that far-IR(FIR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool in indicating the intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding, in this work, this spectroscopic technique has been combined with molecular dynamic(MD) simulation and nuclear magnetic resonance hydrogen spectroscopy(~1H NMR) to investigate ion pairs of aprotic ILs [Bmim][NO_3], [BuPy][NO_3], [Pyr_(14)][NO_3], [PP_(14)][NO_3] and [Bu-choline][NO_3] in aqueous IL mixtures. The FIR spectra have been assigned with the aid of density functional theory(DFT) calculations, and the results are used to understand the effect of cationic nature on the structure of ion pairs. It is found that contact ion pairs formed in the neat aprotic ILs by hydrogen bonding interactions between cation and anion, were still maintained in aqueous solutions up to high water mole fraction(say 0.80 for [BuPy][NO3]). When water content was increased to a critical mole fraction of water(say 0.83 for [BuPy][NO3]), the contact ion pairs could be transformed into solvent-separated ion pairs due to the formation of the hydrogen bonding between ions and water. With the further dilution of the aqueous ILs solution, the solvent-separated ion pairs was finally turned into free cations and free anions(fully hydrated cations or anions). The concentrations of the ILs at which the contact ion pairs were transformed into solvent-separated ion pairs and solvent-separated ion pairs were transformed into free ions(fully hydrated ion) were dependent on the cationic structures. These information provides direct spectral evidence for ion pair structures of the aprotic ILs in aqueous solution. MD simulation and ~1H NMR results support the conclusion drawn from FIR spectra investigations.     

Aqueous divalent metal-nitrate interactions: hydration versus ion pairing

Nitrate aqueous solutions, Mg(NO(3))(2), Ca(NO(3))(2), Sr(NO(3))(2), and Pb(NO(3))(2), are investigated using Raman spectroscopy and free energy profiles from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Analysis of the in-plane deformation, symmetric stretch, and asymmetric stretch vibrational modes of the nitrate ions reveal perturbation caused by the metal cations and hydrating water molecules. Results show that Pb(2+) has a strong tendency to form contact ion pairs with nitrate relative to Sr(2+), Ca(2+), and Mg(2+), and contact ion pair formation decreases with decreasing cation size and increasing cation charge density: Pb(2+) > Sr(2+) > Ca(2+) > Mg(2+). In the case of Mg(2+), the Mg(2+)-OH(2) intermolecular modes indicate strong hydration by water molecules and no contact ion pairing with nitrate. Free energy profiles provide evidence for the experimentally observed trend and clarification between solvent-separated, solvent-shared, and contact ion pairs, particularly for Mg(2+) relative to other cations.     

Solvation of sodium-chloride ion pair in water cluster at atmospheric conditions: grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation

Open statistical ensemble simulations are used to study the mechanism of nucleation of atmospheric water on sodium-chloride ion pair in a wide range of temperature and relative humidity values. The extended simple point-charge model is used for water molecules. Ions-water nonadditive interactions are taken into account by introducing the mutual polarization of ions and water in the field of each other. Gibbs free-energy variations are calculated from Na+-Cl- pair-correlation function and used as a criterion for determining the possible stable states of the cluster. In this relation, it was found that the dissociation of ion pairs in water clusters occurs even at vapor pressures of only a few millibars. In the conditions under consideration solvent-separated ion-pair states are found to be more probable than contact ion-pair configurations. The susceptibilities of water and ions are found to play an essential role in the stabilization of ions at large separations. The structure of ion-induced clusters is analyzed in terms of binary correlation functions. The non-pair interactions influence essentially the structure of ion solvation shells. The results of simulation show that the separation of the charges in water clusters containing simple ions can take place under atmospheric conditions.     

离子对内电子转移型染料阴离子-翁盐阳离子光敏体系中的溶剂效应和结构效应

本文研究了溶剂效应和结构效应对染料碘翁盐光物理, 光化学性质的影响。观察到在溶剂中离子对可以各种形式存在, 如紧密离子对、溶剂分隔离子对或溶剂化的自由离子, 溶剂的极性不仅影响各种存在形式的光谱性质, 而且影响它们之间的平衡关系, 进而影响离子对体系的物理化学性质。染料母核和碘翁阳离子的结构均对离子对体系的性质有影响。光诱导电子转移反应的热力学驱动力越大, 反应速度越快。用分子模拟技术(Molecular Modeling)对离子对体系的立体结构进行了研究, 为理解离子对体系的各种物理化学行为提供了重要的参考。     

The influence of polar solvents on ions and ion pairs in the anionic polymerization of styrene

In the rather polar organic solvents dimethoxyethane, tetrahydrofuran and 3-methyltetrahydrofuran, the behaviour of contact ion pairs, solvent-separated ion pairs and free carbanions of polystyryl sodium has been investigated by kinetic and conductivity measurements. Both the equilibrium between the two kinds of ion pairs and the dissociation of solvent-separated ion pairs to free anions are followed over a wide range of temperature. Thereby, conditions can be found under which the polymerization takes place almost exclusively via one of the two types of ion pairs.The thermodynamic parameters of the equilibria and the Arrhenius parameters of the propagation rate constants of the different kinds of propagating chain ends are reported. The equilibria between these species are strongly influenced by the solvent whereas the individual propagation rate constants are scarcely affected by the solvent. The “effective charge distance” in the solvent-separated ion pair can be estimated from the corresponding dissociation constant. The mobility of the polymer carbanion is discussed.     

Ab initio molecular dynamics study of formate ion hydration

We perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the aqueous formate ion. The mean number of water molecules in the first solvation shell, or the hydration number, of each formate oxygen is found to be consistent with recent experiments. Our ab initio pair correlation functions, however, differ significantly from many classical force field results and hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics predictions. They yield roughly one less hydrogen bond between each formate oxygen and water than force field or hybrid methods predict. Both the BLYP and PW91 exchange correlation functionals give qualitatively similar results. The time dependence of the hydration numbers are examined, and Wannier function techniques are used to analyze electronic configurations along the molecular dynamics trajectory.