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.     

Liquid-vapor interface of methanol-water mixtures: a molecular dynamics study

Molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the structural and thermodynamic properties and variations in the dipole moments of the liquid-vapor interfaces of methanol-water mixtures. Various methanol-water compositions were simulated at room temperature. We found that methanol tends to concentrate at the interface, and the computed surface tension shows a composition dependence that is consistent with experimental measurements. The methanol molecule shows preferred orientation near the interface with the methyl group pointing into the vapor phase. The methanol in the mixture is found to have larger dipole moments than that of pure liquid methanol. The strong local field induced by the surrounding water molecules is partly the reason for this difference. The dependence of hydrogen-bonding patterns between methanol and water on the interface and the composition of the mixture is also discussed in the paper.     

Interfacial structures of methanol:water mixtures at a hydrophobic interface probed by sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy

Sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy was used to study interfacial structure of methanol:water mixtures at an octyltrichlorosilane-covered hydrophobic surface. Methanol was found to adsorb preferentially than water at the interface with its methyl group tilted from the surface normal by approximately 35 degrees for all methanol concentrations. Redshift of the methanol symmetric stretch mode, gradual disappearance of the water dangling-OH mode, and blueshifts of the dangling and liquidlike bonded-OH modes were also observed as the methanol concentration increased. They could be understood from the change of the interfacial hydrogen-bonding network associated with the change of surface composition.     

Detailed insight into the hydrogen bonding interactions in acetone-methanol mixtures. A molecular dynamics simulation and Voronoi polyhedra analysis study

Voronoi polyhedra (VP) analysis of mixtures of acetone and methanol is reported on the basis of molecular dynamics computer simulations, performed at 300 K and 1 bar. The composition of the systems investigated covers the entire range from neat acetone to neat methanol. Distribution of the volume, reciprocal volume and asphericity parameter of the VP as well as that of the area of the individual VP faces and of the radius of the empty voids located between the molecules are calculated. To investigate the tendency of the like molecules to self-associate the analyses are repeated by disregarding one of the two components. The self-aggregates of the disregarded component thus turn into large empty voids, which are easily detectable in VP analysis. The obtained results reveal that both molecules show self-association, but this behavior is considerably stronger among the acetone than among the methanol molecules. The strongest self-association of the acetone and methanol molecules is found in their mole fraction ranges of 02-0.5 and 0.5-0.6, respectively. The caging effect around the methanol molecules is found to be stronger than around acetones. Finally, the local environment of the acetone molecules turns out to be more spherical than that of the methanols, not only in the respective neat liquids, but also in their mixtures.     

极性非质子溶剂与甲醇或1,2-二氯乙烷的汽液平衡

使用双沸点仪测定了丙酮、乙酸乙酯、对二氧六环、乙腈或三乙胺与甲醇或1,2→二氯乙烷以及二者混合物等十一组二元体系在99.3 kPa下的汽液平衡数据(T,x,p), 计算了有关体系的过量吉布斯自由能。结果表明, 六种非质子溶剂与甲醇组成的二元系GE>0; 乙腈或三乙胺与1,2-二氯乙烷组成的二元系GE>0, 而丙酮、乙酸乙酯或对二氧六环与1,2-二氯乙烷的二元混合物GE<0。从同种分子间或不同种分子间的缔合作用对上述结果进行了讨论。本文还在固定极性非质子溶剂(第三组分)物质的量浓度的条件下, 测定了非质子溶剂+1,2-二氯乙烷+甲醇三元混合物的汽液平衡数据, 考察了非质子溶剂的加入对甲醇+1,2-二氯乙烷二元系GE的影响。     

Surfaces of alcohol-water mixtures studied by sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy

Sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy was used to investigate the surface molecular structure of binary mixtures of water and alcohol (methanol, ethanol, and propanol) at the air/liquid interface. In this study, it is shown that the sum-frequency signal from the alcohol molecules in the CH-stretch vibration region is always larger for mixtures than that from pure alcohol. For example, the sum-frequency signal from a propanol mixture surface at a 0.1 bulk mole fraction was approximately 3 times larger than that from a pure propanol surface. However, the ratio between the sum-frequency signals taken at different polarization combinations was found to be constant within experimental errors as the bulk alcohol concentration was changed. This suggested that the orientation of surface alcohol molecules does not vary appreciably with the change of concentration and that the origin of the signal enhancement is mainly due to the increase in the surface number density of alcohol molecules contributing to the sum-frequency signal for the alcohol/water mixture as compared to the pure alcohol surface.     

A 2H nuclear magnetic resonance study of the state of water in neat silica and zwitterionic stationary phases and its influence on the chromatographic retention characteristics in hydrophilic interaction high-performance liquid chromatography

²H NMR has been used as a tool for probing the state of water in hydrophilic stationary phases for liquid chromatography at temperatures between −80 and +4 °C. The fraction of water that remained unfrozen in four different neat silicas with nominal pore sizes between 60 and 300 Å, and in silicas with polymeric sulfobetaine zwitterionic functionalities prepared in different ways, could be determined by measurements of the line widths and temperature-corrected integrals of the ²H signals. The phase transitions detected during thawing made it possible to estimate the amount of non-freezable water in each phase. A distinct difference was seen between the neat and modified silicas tested. For the neat silicas, the relationship between the freezing point depression and their pore size followed the expected Gibbs–Thomson relationship. The polymeric stationary phases were found to contain considerably higher amounts of non-freezable water compared to the neat silica, which is attributed to the structural effect that the sulfobetaine polymers have on the water layer close to the stationary phase surface. The sulfobetaine stationary phases were used alongside the 100 Å silica to separate a number of polar compounds in hydrophilic interaction (HILIC) mode, and the retention characteristics could be explained in terms of the surface water structure, as well as by the porous properties of the stationary phases. This provides solid evidence supporting a partitioning mechanism, or at least of the existence of an immobilized layer of water into which partitioning could be occurring.     

Vapor-liquid interfacial properties of mutually saturated water/1-butanol solutions

Adsorption and ordering at the vapor-liquid interfaces of mutually saturated water/1-butanol solutions at a temperature of 298.15 K were investigated using configurational-bias Monte Carlo simulations in the Gibbs ensemble and compared to the surface properties of neat water and 1-butanol liquids. A dense 1-butanol monolayer is observed at the surface of the water-rich phase, which results in a substantial decrease of its surface tension. In contrast, there is no enrichment of water molecules at the surface of the butanol-rich phase, and its surface tension is not significantly changed. Analysis of the interfacial structures reveals that these systems exhibit orientational ordering and composition heterogeneity. Analysis of the hydrogen-bonding distributions suggests that the formation of the 1-butanol monolayer is driven by an excellent match between water and the primary alcohol; that is, additional hydrogen bonds are formed between the excess free hydrogens of surface water and the excess hydrogen-bond acceptor sites of 1-butanol.     

Phase equilibria in carbon dioxide expanded solvents: Experiments and molecular simulations

We present complementary molecular simulations and experimental results of phase equilibria for carbon dioxide expanded acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, toluene, and 1-octene. The volume expansion measurements were done using a high-pressure Jerguson view cell. Molecular simulations were performed using the Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo method. Calculations in the canonical ensemble (NVT) were performed to determine the coexistence curve of the pure solvent systems. Binary mixtures were simulated in the isobaric-isothermal distribution (NPT). Predictions of vapor-liquid equilibria of the pure components agree well with experimental data. The simulations accurately reproduced experimental data on saturated liquid and vapor densities for carbon dioxide, methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, toluene, and 1-octene. In all carbon dioxide expanded liquids (CXL's) studied, the molecular simulation results for the volume expansion of these binary mixtures were found to be as good as, and in many cases superior to, predictions based on the Peng-Robinson equation of state, demonstrating the utility of molecular simulation in the prediction of CXL phase equilibria.     

Molecular–Dynamic Simulation of Mixed Water–Methanol Clusters: 1. Local Structure

Clusters of the water–methanol mixtures of various compositions containing different numbers of molecules were investigated by computer simulation. Radial profiles of the local partial density and the local composition demonstrating the distribution of the components in the spherically symmetric systems were obtained. The orientation distribution functions of molecules over the directions of the dipole moment and valence bonds in molecules characterizing the most probable orientation of molecules in the surface layer of the mixture were calculated.     

Adsorption of Water Vapor on the AgI Surface: A Computer Experiment

Deposition of water molecules on a fragment of the β-AgI crystal surface was studied by computer simulation. The free energy, entropy, and work of formation of condensate nuclei on the support without crystal defects and in the presence of a point defect (excessive ion on the surface) were calculated. The monomolecular water layer is formed on the support surface from water vapor with the pressure exceeding the threshold level (about 20% of saturated vapor pressure). Spots of the monomolecular layer are formed in the vicinity of point crystal defects at pressures considerably lower than the threshold level and remain stable under these conditions.     

Effect of the endcapping of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography adsorbents on the adsorption isotherm

The retention mechanisms of n-propylbenzoate, 4-t ert-butylphenol, and caffeine on the endcapped Symmetry-C(18) and the non-endcapped Resolve-C(18) are compared. The adsorption isotherms were measured by frontal analysis (FA), using as the mobile phase mixtures of methanol or acetonitrile and water of various compositions. The isotherm data were modeled and the adsorption energy distributions calculated. The surface heterogeneity increases faster with decreasing methanol concentration on the non-endcapped than on the endcapped adsorbent. For instance, for methanol concentrations exceeding 30% (v/v), the adsorption of caffeine is accounted for by assuming three and two different types of adsorption sites on Resolve-C(18) and Symmetry-C(18), respectively. This is explained by the effect of the mobile phase composition on the structure of the C(18)-bonded layer. The bare surface of bonded silica appears more accessible to solute molecules at high water contents in the mobile phase. On the other hand, replacing methanol by a stronger organic modifier like acetonitrile dampens the differences between non-endcapped and endcapped stationary phase and decreases the degree of surface heterogeneity of the adsorbent. For instance, at acetonitrile concentrations exceeding 20%, the surface appears nearly homogeneous for the adsorption of caffeine.     

Sticking coefficient and processing of water vapor on organic-coated nanoaerosols

Organic-based aerosols may play an unexpectedly important role in the atmospheric processing of water vapor. In this paper, we report results of a molecular dynamics (MD) study on the sticking coefficient of water vapor on a coated particle (water droplet coated with fatty acid of radius approximately 4 nm). The sticking coefficient was found to be almost a constant (11-16%) for incident speeds around the most probable speed as opposed to 100% for water vapor incident on a pure water droplet. The sticking coefficient was found to increase with the size of the water cluster (water-Nmer) impinging the surface of the particle and was seen to approach 1 for impinging water clusters consisting of 10 molecules or more. We also computed the average energy transferred per collision for monomers impinging the surface of the coated particle and found the value to be 4.4581 kJ/mol. Most important perhaps was the fact that despite the lower sticking coefficient, the equilibrium vapor pressure of water over these inverted micelles was considerably lower due to the surface tension effects of the fatty acid layer. As such, these coated particles act as effective substrates for water vapor condensation and may play a role as cloud condensation nuclei.     

Hydrogen bond dynamics at water/organic liquid interfaces

Hydrogen bond dynamics at the neat interface between water and a series of organic liquids are studied with molecular dynamics computer simulation. The organic liquids are nonpolar (carbon tetrachloride), weakly polar (1,2-dichloroethane), and polar (nitrobenzene). The effect of surface polarity and surface roughness is examined. The dynamics are expressed in terms of the hydrogen bond population autocorrelation functions and are found to be nonexponential and strongly dependent on the nature of the organic phase. In particular, at all interfaces, the dynamics are slower at the interface than in the bulk and sensitive to the location of the water molecules along the interface normal.     

Effect of anionic surfactant and short-chain alcohol mixtures on adsorption at quartz/water and water/air interfaces and the wettability of quartz

Measurements of the advancing contact angles for aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDDS) or sodium hexadecyl sulfonate (SHS) in mixtures with methanol, ethanol, or propanol on a quartz surface were carried out. On the basis of the obtained results and Young and Gibbs equations the critical surface tension of quartz wetting, the composition of the surface layer at the quartz-water interface, and the activity coefficients of the anionic surfactants and alcohols in this layer as well as the work of adhesion of aqueous solutions of anionic surfactant and alcohol mixtures to the quartz surface were determined. The analysis of the contact angle data showed that the wettability of quartz changed visibly only in the range of alcohol and anionic surfactant concentration at which these surface-active agents were present in the solution in the monomeric form. The analysis also showed that there was a linear dependence between the adhesion and the surface tension of aqueous solutions of anionic surfactant and alcohol mixtures. This dependence can be described by linear equations for which the constants depend on the anionic surfactant and alcohol concentrations. The slope of all linear dependence between adhesion and surface tension was positive. The critical surface tension of quartz wetting determined from this dependence by extrapolating the adhesion tension to the value equal to the surface tension (for contact angle equal zero) depends on the assumption whether the concentration of anionic surfactant or alcohol was constant. Its average value is equal to 29.95mN/m and it is considerably lower than the quartz surface tension. The positive slope of the adhesion-surface tension curves was explained by the possibility of the presence of liquid vapor film beyond the solution drop which settled on the quartz surface and the adsorption of surface-active agents at the quartz/monolayer water film-water interface. This conclusion was confirmed by the work of adhesion of aqueous solutions of anionic surfactants and short-chain alcohol mixtures to the quartz surface determined on the basis of the contact angle data and molar fraction of anionic surfactants and alcohols and their activity coefficient in the surface layer.     

Surface tension of quantum fluids from molecular simulations

We present the first molecular simulations of the vapor-liquid surface tension of quantum liquids. The path integral formalism of Feynman was used to account for the quantum mechanical behavior of both the liquid and the vapor. A replica-data parallel algorithm was implemented to achieve good parallel performance of the simulation code on at least 32 processors. We have computed the surface tension and the vapor-liquid phase diagram of pure hydrogen over the temperature range 18-30 K and pure deuterium from 19 to 34 K. The simulation results for surface tension and vapor-liquid orthobaric densities are in very good agreement with experimental data. We have computed the interfacial properties of hydrogen-deuterium mixtures over the entire concentration range at 20.4 and 24 K. The calculated equilibrium compositions of the mixtures are in excellent agreement with experimental data. The computed mixture surface tension shows negative deviations from ideal solution behavior, in agreement with experimental data and predictions from Prigogine's theory. The magnitude of the deviations at 20.4 K are substantially larger from simulations and from theory than from experiments. We conclude that the experimentally measured mixture surface tension values are systematically too high. Analysis of the concentration profiles in the interfacial region shows that the nonideal behavior can be described entirely by segregation of H(2) to the interface, indicating that H(2) acts as a surfactant in H(2)-D(2) mixtures.     

Selective adsorption from methanol/water mixtures by C60 fullerene nanospheres

Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the selective adsorption of methanol/water mixtures on the surface of [60] fullerene nanospheres. C₆₀ molecules were dispersed in methanol/water mixtures with different methanol molar fractions ranging between 1 and 0.5. The Raman active pentagon pinch mode shifted significantly (±4 cm⁻¹) as the mixture composition was changed. The shift in the Raman mode was sinusoidal in nature indicating that methanol then water is adsorbed preferentially on the fullerene surface at different mixture compositions. The observed behavior is attributed to structure forming effects of alcohol/water mixtures and the shape and size effect of fullerene surface.     

Enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography using mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/strong cation‐exchange retention mechanisms

The potential of enhanced‐fluidity liquid chromatography, a subcritical chromatography technique, in mixed‐mode hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange separations is explored, using amino acids as analytes. The enhanced‐fluidity liquid mobile phases were prepared by adding liquefied CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures, which increases the diffusivity and decreases the viscosity of the mixture. The addition of CO₂ to methanol/water mixtures resulted in increased retention of the more polar amino acids. The “optimized” chromatographic performance (achieving baseline resolution of all amino acids in the shortest amount of time) of these methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures was compared to traditional acetonitrile/water and methanol/water liquid chromatography mobile phases. Methanol/water/CO₂ mixtures offered higher efficiencies and resolution of the ten amino acids relative to the methanol/water mobile phase, and decreased the required isocratic separation time by a factor of two relative to the acetonitrile/water mobile phase. Large differences in selectivity were also observed between the enhanced‐fluidity and traditional liquid mobile phases. A retention mechanism study was completed, that revealed the enhanced‐fluidity mobile phase separation was governed by a mixed‐mode retention mechanism of hydrophilic interaction/strong cation‐exchange. On the other hand, separations with acetonitrile/water and methanol/water mobile phases were strongly governed by only one retention mechanism, either hydrophilic interaction or strong cation exchange, respectively.     

Molecular level structure of the liquid/liquid interface. Molecular dynamics simulation and ITIM analysis of the water-CCl4 system

The molecular level properties of the liquid/liquid interface between water and CCl(4) are analysed in detail on the basis of molecular dynamics computer simulation. This analysis requires a full list of the molecules that are right at the interface in both phases. Such a list can be provided by the novel method for identifying truly interfacial molecules (ITIM). The full list of the truly interfacial molecules various properties (e.g., width, molecular level roughness) of the interface can be meaningfully analysed. The residence time of the molecules at the interface, the percolation of the water molecules at the interfacial layer as well as in the second layer beneath the surface, the preferred orientations of the interfacial water molecules and the dependence of these orientational preferences on the local curvature of the interface are also analysed and discussed in detail.