Effect of partial charge parametrization on the fluid phase behavior of hydrogen sulfide

The effect of partial charge parametrization on the fluid phase behavior of hydrogen sulfide is investigated with grand canonical histogram reweighting Monte Carlo simulations. Four potential models, based on a Lennard-Jones + point charge functional form, are developed. It is shown that Lennard-Jones parameters can be tuned such that partial charges for the sulfur atom in the range -0.40 < q(s) < -0.252 will lead to an accurate reproduction of experimental vapor-liquid equilibria. Each of the parameter sets developed in this work are used to predict the pressure composition behavior H2S-n-pentane at 377.6 K. While the mixture calculation provides a means of reducing the number of candidate parameter sets, multiple parameter sets were found to yield an excellent reproduction of both the pure component and mixture phase behavior.     

Molecular theory of thermal conductivity of the Lennard-Jones fluid

In this paper the thermal conductivity of the Lennard-Jones fluid is calculated by applying the combination of the density-fluctuation theory, the modified free volume theory of diffusion, and the generic van der Waals equation of state. A Monte Carlo simulation method is used to compute the equilibrium pair-correlation function necessary for computing the mean free volume and the coefficient in the potential-energy and virial contributions to the thermal conductivity. The theoretical results are compared with our own molecular dynamics simulation results and with those reported in the literature. They agree in good accuracy over wide ranges of density and temperature examined in molecular dynamics simulations. Thus the combined theory represents a molecular theory of thermal conductivity of the Lennard-Jones fluid and by extension simple fluids, which enables us to compute the nonequilibrium quantity by means of the Monte Carlo simulations for the equilibrium pair-correlation function.     

A chemical test of the principle of critical point universality: the solubility of nickel (II) oxide in isobutyric acid + water near the consolute point

A mixture of isobutyric acid + water has an upper consolute point at 38.8 mass?% isobutyric acid and temperature near 26?°C. Nickel (II) oxide dissolves in this mixture by reacting with the acid to produce water and nickel isobutyrate. The solubility of nickel (II) oxide in isobutyric acid + water has been measured as a function of temperature at compositions, 25, 38.8, and 60 mass?% isobutyric acid. For values of the temperature, T, which were at least 2 K in excess of the liquid-liquid phase transition temperature, the measured values of the solubility, s, lie on a straight line when plotted in van't Hoff form with ln?s versus 1∕T. The slope, (?ln?s∕?(1∕T)), of the line is negative indicating that the dissolution reaction is endothermic. When the temperature was within 2 K of the phase transition temperature, however, (?ln?s∕?(1∕T)) diverged toward negative infinity. The principle of critical point universality predicts that when excess solid nickel (II) oxide is in dissolution equilibrium with liquid isobutyric acid + water, (?ln?s∕?(1∕T)) should diverge upon approaching the consolute point along the critical isopleth at 38.8 mass?% isobutyric acid. As determined by the sign of the enthalpy of solution, the sign of this divergence is expected to be negative. Not only do our experiments confirm these predictions, but they also show that identical behavior can be observed at both 25 and 60 mass?% isobustyric acid, compositions which lie substantially to either side of the critical composition.     

Perfect wetting along a three-phase line: theory and molecular dynamics simulations

Wetting behavior along a three-phase equilibrium has been obtained by density gradient theory (DGT) and molecular dynamics simulations for a type-II equal size Lennard-Jones mixture. In order to perform a consistent comparison between both methodologies, the molecular parameters of this type of mixture were defined from the global phase diagram of equal size Lennard-Jones mixtures. We have found excellent agreement between predictions from the DGT (coupled to a Lennard-Jones equation for the bulk phases) and simulations results for both the phase and interface behavior, in the whole temperature, pressure, and concentration ranges. For all conditions explored in this work, this type-II mixture shows a three-phase equilibrium composed by a bulk immiscible liquid phase (L1) and a bulk gas phase (G) separated by a second immiscible liquid phase (L2). A similar phase distribution is obtained from the interfacial concentration profile in the whole range of conditions used in this work. This type of structure is a clear evidence that L2 completely wets the GL1 interface. The wetting behavior is also confirmed by the values and evolution of the interfacial tensions. In summary, this kind of type-II mixture does not show wetting transitions and exhibits a permanent perfect wetting in all the thermodynamic conditions explored here.     

Crystallization of a binary Lennard-Jones mixture

Transition interface path sampling combined with straightforward molecular dynamics simulation was applied to study the mechanism and kinetics of the crystallization of an undercooled 3:1 binary Lennard-Jones mixture with diameter ratio 0.85 and equal interaction strengths. We find that this mixture freezes via the formation of crystalline clusters consisting of a fcc-rich core and a bcc-rich surface layer, with an excess of large particles and particle species distributed randomly. A detailed comparison reveals that the transition mechanism is similar to that of the pure fluid but occurs with much smaller nucleation rates even at comparable degrees of undercooling. Also, the growth of the crystalline cluster in the mixture proceeds at a pace about 1 order of magnitude slower than in the pure system. Possibly, this slow dynamics of the mixture is related to the occurrence and subsequent relaxation of icosahedral structures in the growing crystal as well as in the liquid surrounding it.     

Molecular simulation study of adsorption and diffusion on silicalite for a benzene/CO2 mixture

The adsorption and diffusion of a binary mixture of supercritical CO2 and benzene on silicalite (MFI-type) have been studied through the grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The adsorption behavior of pure CO2 on silicalite was discussed in detail from the adsorption isotherms, adsorption sites, interaction energies, and isosteric heats of adsorption. For the mixture, the influences of temperature, pressure and composition on the adsorption isotherms have been examined. The adsorption site behavior of the mixture has been analyzed, and benzene molecules get adsorbed preferentially in the more spacious channel intersection positions. These simulation results suggest that SC-CO2 fluid can be used as an efficient desorbent of larger aromatics in the zeolite material. The diffusion characteristic for the benzene/CO2 mixture was studied on the basis of MD simulation. It was found that the large coadsorbed benzene molecule has a pronounced effect on the CO2 diffusion in the mixture, while the mobility of benzene molecules is very small due to geometrical restrictions.     

The permanent electric dipole moment and hyperfine interactions in platinum monofluoride, PtF

The [11.9]Ω = 3∕2 ← X (2)Π(3∕2)(0,0) and (1,0) bands of platinum monofluoride, PtF, have been recorded field-free and in the presence of a static electric field. The (19)F(I = 1∕2) and (195)Pt(I = 1∕2) magnetic hyperfine interactions have been analyzed and compared with predicted values obtained using atomic information and a proposed molecular orbital correlation diagram. The optical Stark shifts were analyzed to produce the permanent electric dipole moments, μ?(el), of 2.47(11)D and 3.42(6)D for the [11.9]Ω = 3∕2 and X (2)Π(3∕2)states, respectively. The observed trend in μ?(el) for the PtX (X = C,N,O,S and F) series is discussed and a comparison with IrF made.     

Determination of fluid-phase behavior using transition-matrix Monte Carlo: binary Lennard-Jones mixtures

We present a novel computational methodology for determining fluid-phase equilibria in binary mixtures. The method is based on a combination of highly efficient transition-matrix Monte Carlo and histogram reweighting. In particular, a directed grand-canonical transition-matrix Monte Carlo scheme is used to calculate the particle-number probability distribution, after which histogram reweighting is used as a postprocessing procedure to determine the conditions of phase equilibria. To validate the methodology, we have applied it to a number of model binary Lennard-Jones systems known to exhibit nontrivial fluid-phase behavior. Although we have focused on monatomic fluids in this work, the method presented here is general and can be easily extended to more complex molecular fluids. Finally, an important feature of this method is the capability to predict the entire fluid-phase diagram of a binary mixture at fixed temperature in a single simulation.     

Simulation of phase separation in alcohol/water mixtures using two-body force field and standard molecular dynamics

Standard molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out on pure alcohols and alcohol/water mixtures. A simple atom-atom force field consisting of Lennard-Jones potentials plus coulombic terms over atomic point charges, but without explicit polarization terms, has been specifically fitted to reproduce several experimental properties of the pure alcohols, and has been used for mixtures by developing combination rules with the TIP3P water model. Densities, enthalpies of vaporization, radial distribution functions, self-diffusion coefficients, and rotational correlation functions of the pure alcohols are well reproduced and compare favorably with those from more sophisticated force fields. Some key aspects of the phase behaviour are correctly reproduced by the molecular dynamics simulation, showing a distinct demixing process for the n-butanol/water mixture as opposed to the stability of the t-butanol/water mixtures. The results demonstrate the ability of a molecular dynamics simulation, even in its standard form and with easily accessible time ranges, but with a carefully optimized force field, to simulate and, to a certain extent, predict the properties of binary mixtures.     

Curvature dependence of surface free energy of liquid drops and bubbles: A simulation study

We study the excess free energy due to phase coexistence of fluids by Monte Carlo simulations using successive umbrella sampling in finite L×L×L boxes with periodic boundary conditions. Both the vapor-liquid phase coexistence of a simple Lennard-Jones fluid and the coexistence between A-rich and B-rich phases of a symmetric binary (AB) Lennard-Jones mixture are studied, varying the density ρ in the simple fluid or the relative concentration x(A) of A in the binary mixture, respectively. The character of phase coexistence changes from a spherical droplet (or bubble) of the minority phase (near the coexistence curve) to a cylindrical droplet (or bubble) and finally (in the center of the miscibility gap) to a slablike configuration of two parallel flat interfaces. Extending the analysis of Schrader et al., [Phys. Rev. E 79, 061104 (2009)], we extract the surface free energy γ(R) of both spherical and cylindrical droplets and bubbles in the vapor-liquid case and present evidence that for R→∞ the leading order (Tolman) correction for droplets has sign opposite to the case of bubbles, consistent with the Tolman length being independent on the sign of curvature. For the symmetric binary mixture, the expected nonexistence of the Tolman length is confirmed. In all cases and for a range of radii R relevant for nucleation theory, γ(R) deviates strongly from γ(∞) which can be accounted for by a term of order γ(∞)/γ(R)-1∝R(-2). Our results for the simple Lennard-Jones fluid are also compared to results from density functional theory, and we find qualitative agreement in the behavior of γ(R) as well as in the sign and magnitude of the Tolman length.     

Critical point estimation of the Lennard-Jones pure fluid and binary mixtures

The apparent critical point of the pure fluid and binary mixtures interacting with the Lennard-Jones potential has been calculated using Monte Carlo histogram reweighting techniques combined with either a fourth order cumulant calculation (Binder parameter) or a mixed-field study. By extrapolating these finite system size results through a finite size scaling analysis we estimate the infinite system size critical point. Excellent agreement is found between all methodologies as well as previous works, both for the pure fluid and the binary mixture studied. The combination of the proposed cumulant method with the use of finite size scaling is found to present advantages with respect to the mixed-field analysis since no matching to the Ising universal distribution is required while maintaining the same statistical efficiency. In addition, the accurate estimation of the finite critical point becomes straightforward while the scaling of density and composition is also possible and allows for the estimation of the line of critical points for a Lennard-Jones mixture.     

Surface tension of associating fluids by Monte Carlo simulations

Canonical Monte Carlo (NVT-MC) simulations were performed to obtain surface tension and coexistence densities at the liquid-vapor interface of one-site associating Lennard-Jones and hard-core Yukawa fluids, as functions of association strength and temperature. The method to obtain the components of the pressure tensor from NVT-MC simulations was validated by comparing the equation of state of the associative hard sphere system with that coming from isothermal-isobaric Monte Carlo simulations. Surface tension of the associative Lennard-Jones fluid determined from NVT-MC is compared with previously reported results obtained by molecular dynamics simulations of a pseudomixture model of monomers and dimers. A good agreement was found between both methods. Values of surface tension of associative hard-core Yukawa fluids are presented here for the first time.     

Characterization of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim][Tf2N])∕TX-100∕cyclohexane ternary microemulsion: investigation of photoinduced electron transfer in this RTIL containing microemulsion

In this study we have characterized a ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl- sulfonyl)imide containing ternary nonaqueous microemulsion ([Emim][Tf(2)N]∕∕TX-100∕cyclo- hexane). The phase behavior and dynamic light scattering study show that the [Emim][Tf(2)N]∕TX-100∕cyclohexane three component system can form microemulsion with [Emim][Tf(2)N] as polar core at suitable condition. We have investigated photoinduced electron transfer (PET) using dimethyl aniline as electron donor and several Coumarin dyes as electron acceptor molecules at two different R values (R = [ionic liquid]∕[surfactant]) to observe how the dynamics of the PET rate is affected in this type of confined microenvironment compared to that of the PET dynamics in neat ionic liquid and other pure solvent media. The plot of observed k(q) values with the free energy change (ΔG(0)) for electron transfer reaction shows an apparent inversion in the observed rate as predicted by the Marcus theory.     

The free energy of the metastable supersaturated vapor via restricted ensemble simulations

Pressure, excess chemical potential, and excess free energy, with respect to ideal gas data at different densities of the supersaturated Lennard-Jones particle vapor at the reduced temperature 0.7 are obtained by the restricted canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation method [D. S. Corti and P. Debenedetti, Chem. Eng. Sci. 49, 2717 (1994)]. The excess free energy values depend upon the constraints imposed on the system with local minima exhibited for densities below the spinodal density and monotonic variation for densities larger than the spinodal density. The results are compared with a molecular dynamics simulation study [A. Linharton et al., J. Chem. Phys. 122, 144506 (2005)] on the same system. The current study verifies the conclusion drawn by the simulation work that clustering of Lennard-Jones atoms exists even in the vicinity of spinodal. Our method gives an alternative to molecular dynamic simulations for the determination of equilibrium properties of a metastable fluid, especially close to the spinodal, and does not require a very large system to carry out the simulation.     

Computer simulation of a real liquid crystal

We carried out a computer simulation study of a liquid crystal using semi-empirical atom-atom potentials (the Lennard-Jones 6-12 modification) with nematic 4-ethoxybenzylidene-4-n-butylaniline as an example. The two stages of the calculations were (1) simulation of the structure of an isolated molecule and (2) Monte Carlo simulation of liquid crystal phase. The energy of the system was calculated as the sum over all atomic pair interactions. The molecular structure preferred in the nematic phase is discussed.     

Temperature and composition dependence of the Soret coefficient in Lennard-Jones mixtures presenting evaporation/condensation phase transition

The thermodiffusive behavior of a Lennard-Jones binary mixture has been studied by using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics. In particular, the dependence of the Soret coefficient, S(T), on the temperature and composition has been investigated, exploring a wide range of temperatures from 1000 K to the condensation temperature of the mixture. In a previous paper the dependence of S(T) on the temperature and the composition was studied for Lennard-Jones binary mixtures presenting mixing/demixing (consolute) phase transition, and the results allowed the formulation of a very simple expression with the computed values of S(T) in the one phase region outside the critical region closely fitted by the function [T - T(c)(x(1))](-1), with T(c)(x(1)) the demixing temperature of the mixture under study. The results of the present work show that the same expression of S(T) can be found for the one phase region outside the evaporation/condensation region but now with T(c) representing the condensation temperature of the mixture under study.     

First principles molecular dynamics study of filled ice hydrogen hydrate

We investigated structural changes, phase diagram, and vibrational properties of hydrogen hydrate in filled-ice phase C(2) by using first principles molecular dynamics simulation. It was found that the experimentally reported "cubic" structure is unstable at low temperature and∕or high pressure: The "cubic" structure reflects the symmetry at high (room) temperature where the hydrogen bond network is disordered and the hydrogen molecules are orientationally disordered due to thermal rotation. In this sense, the "cubic" symmetry would definitely be lowered at low temperature where the hydrogen bond network and the hydrogen molecules are expected to be ordered. At room temperature and below 30 GPa, it is the thermal effects that play an essential role in stabilizing the structure in "cubic" symmetry. Above 60 GPa, the hydrogen bonds in the framework would be symmetrized and the hydrogen bond order-disorder transition would disappear. These results also suggest the phase behavior of other filled-ice hydrates. In the case of rare gas hydrate, there would be no guest molecules' rotation-nonrotation transition since the guest molecules keep their spherical symmetry at any temperature. On the contrary methane hydrate MH-III would show complex transitions due to the lower symmetry of the guest molecule. These results would encourage further experimental studies, especially nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and neutron scattering, on the phases of filled-ice hydrates at high pressures and∕or low temperatures.     

Phase coexistence in heterogeneous porous media: a new extension to Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulation method

The effect of confinement on phase behavior of simple fluids is still an area of intensive research. In between experiment and theory, molecular simulation is a powerful tool to study the effect of confinement in realistic porous materials, containing some disorder. Previous simulation works aiming at establishing the phase diagram of a confined Lennard-Jones-type fluid, concentrated on simple pore geometries (slits or cylinders). The development of the Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo technique by Panagiotopoulos [Mol. Phys. 61, 813 (1987)], greatly favored the study of such simple geometries for two reasons. First, the technique is very efficient to calculate the phase diagram, since each run (at a given temperature) converges directly to an equilibrium between a gaslike and a liquidlike phase. Second, due to volume exchange procedure between the two phases, at least one invariant direction of space is required for applicability of this method, which is the case for slits or cylinders. Generally, the introduction of some disorder in such simple pores breaks the initial invariance in one of the space directions and prevents to work in the Gibbs ensemble. The simulation techniques for such disordered systems are numerous (grand canonical Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, histogram reweighting, N-P-T+test method, Gibbs-Duhem integration procedure, etc.). However, the Gibbs ensemble technique, which gives directly the coexistence between phases, was never generalized to such systems. In this work, we focus on two weakly disordered pores for which a modified Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo technique can be applied. One of the pores is geometrically undulated, whereas the second is cylindrical but presents a chemical variation which gives rise to a modulation of the wall potential. In the first case almost no change in the phase diagram is observed, whereas in the second strong modifications are reported.     

Prediction of thermodynamic, transport and vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of binary mixtures of ethylene glycol and water

Equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques were applied to predict various thermodynamic, transport and vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of binary mixtures of ethylene glycol and water (EG-W) based on OPLS-AA and SPC/E force fields. The properties predicted include density, vaporization enthalpy, enthalpy of mixing, heat capacities, diffusion coefficients, shear viscosities, thermal conductivities, vapor-liquid coexistence isotherms and isobaric curves, and saturation vapor pressures. Good agreements with experimental data were obtained for most of these properties. Errors are mostly related to inaccuracy found in predictions of pure fluids; a correction to prediction of pure substance can systematically improve prediction for the mixture. This work suggests that OPLS-AA and SPC/E force fields using the common combining rules are transferable for predicting multiple physical properties of EG-W mixtures.