Ion-induced multiply reentrant liquid-liquid transitions and the nature of criticality in ethanol-water mixture

We report a quite unusual feature of four liquid-liquid reentrant transitions in ethanol (E)+water (W)+ammonium sulfate mixture by meticulous tuning of the ammonium sulfate concentration in a narrow range, as a function of temperature, at atmospheric pressure. Detailed exploration of the intricate phase behavior in terms of E/W sections shows that the range of triple reentrance shrinks with increasing E/W. The behavior of osmotic susceptibility is investigated by light scattering, near the critical point, in the one-phase region by varying the temperature at fixed concentration of the components, in a particular E/W section. The critical exponent of susceptibility (gamma) and correlation length (nu) are observed to have Fisher renormalized Ising values [Phys. Rev. 176, 237 (1968)], with gamma(r)=1.41 and nu(r)=0.718. The effective susceptibility exponent, gamma(eff), exhibits a sharp, nonmonotonic crossover from Ising to mean-field critical behavior, which is completed outside the critical regime. The amplitude of the correlation length, xi(o)(=21.2+/-0.4 A), deduced from light scattering experiment, is an order of magnitude larger than the typical values in usual aqueous electrolyte systems. This value of xi(o) is further verified from small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments and found to be consistent. SAXS experiments on the critical sample reveal the presence of long-ranged intermolecular correlations, leading to supramolecular structuring, at a temperature far away from the critical point. These results convincingly demonstrate that the finite length scale arising due to the structuring competes with the diverging correlation length of critical concentration fluctuations, which influences the nonasymptotic critical behavior in this aqueous electrolyte system. The sulphate ions play a dominant role in both structuring and the complex phase behavior.     

Molecular interpretation of the linear relationship between the entropy and the enthalpy of activation of charge transfer reactions in polar liquids

The well-known linear relationship (TΔS# =αΔH# +β, where 1 >α > 0,β > 0) between the entropy (ΔS#) and the enthalpy (ΔH#) of activation for reactions in polar liquids is investigated by using a molecular theory. An explicit derivation of this linear relation from first principles is presented for an outersphere charge transfer reaction. The derivation offers microscopic interpretation for the quantitiesα andβ. It has also been possible to make connection with and justify the arguments of Bell put forward many years ago     

Ionic and dipolar solvation dynamics in liquid water

The solvation time correlation function for solvation in liquid water was measured recently. The solvation was found to be very fast, with a time constant equal to 55 fs. In this article we present theoretical studies on solvation dynamics of ionic and dipolar solutes in liquid water, based on the molecular hydrodynamic approach developed earlier. The molecular hydrodynamic theory can successfully predict the ultrafast dynamics of solvation in liquid water as observed from recent experiments. The present study also reveals some interesting aspects of dipolar solvation dynamics, which differs significantly from that of ionic solvation. Dedicated to Prof. C N R Rao on his 60th birthday     

On the molecular mechanism of drug intercalation into DNA: a simulation study of the intercalation pathway, free energy, and DNA structural changes

Intercalation into DNA (insertion between a pair of base pairs) is a critical step in the function of many anticancer drugs. Despite its importance, a detailed mechanistic understanding of this process at the molecular level is lacking. We have constructed, using extensive atomistic computer simulations and umbrella sampling techniques, a free energy landscape for the intercalation of the anticancer drug daunomycin into a twelve base pair B-DNA. A similar free energy landscape has been constructed for a probable intermediate DNA minor groove-bound state. These allow a molecular level understanding of aspects of the thermodynamics, DNA structural changes, and kinetic pathways of the intercalation process. Key DNA structural changes involve opening the future intercalation site base pairs toward the minor groove (positive roll), followed by an increase in the rise, accompanied by hydrogen bonding changes of the minor groove waters. The calculated intercalation free energy change is -12.3 kcal/mol, in reasonable agreement with the experimental estimate -9.4 kcal/mol. The results point to a mechanism in which the drug first binds to the minor groove and then intercalates into the DNA in an activated process, which is found to be in general agreement with experimental kinetic results.     

Non-monotonic, distance-dependent relaxation of water in reverse micelles: propagation of surface induced frustration along hydrogen bond networks

Layer-wise, distance-dependent orientational relaxation of water confined in reverse micelles (RM) is studied using theoretical and computational tools. We use both a newly constructed "spins on a ring" (SOR) Ising-type model (with Shore-Zwanzig rotational dynamics) and atomistic simulations with explicit water. Our study explores the effect of reverse micelle size and role of intermolecular correlations, compromised by the presence of a highly polar surface, on the distance (from the interface) dependence of water relaxation. The "spins on a ring" model can capture some aspects of distance dependence of relaxation, such as acceleration of orientational relaxation at intermediate layers. In atomistic simulations, layer-wise decomposition of hydrogen bond formation pattern clearly reveals that hydrogen bond arrangement of water at a certain distance away from the surface can remain frustrated due to the interaction with the polar surface head groups. This layer-wise analysis also reveals the presence of a non-monotonic slow relaxation component which can be attributed to this frustration effect and which is accentuated in small to intermediate size RMs. For large size RMs, the long time component decreases monotonically from the interface to the interior of the RMs with slowest relaxation observed at the interface.     

Dielectric relaxation in dipolar solid rotator phases

Dielectric relaxation in orientationally disordered dipolar solids often exhibits exotic features, such as a strong Cole-Cole relaxation for simple molecular solids. However, there does not seem to exist a detailed molecular theory of such phenomena. In this article, a molecular hydrodynamic theory of dielectric relaxation in solid rotator phases, such as plastic crystals, is presented.     

Kinematic theory of diffraction by matter of any kind and the theory of liquids

An expression for the intensity function scattered coherently by an arbitrarily distorted lattice has been derived which degenerates under well-defined conditions to the well-known formulae valid for crystals, liquids and gases or amorphous substances. A new method for the analysis of the radial distribution function (RDF) of simple liquids has been suggested. RDF curves for liquid argon near the triple point have been analysed to obtain the distance statistics of neighbours and their coordination numbers. Using the first-neighbour statistics an expression for the partition function for matter of any kind and, in particular, for simple liquids has been deduced.     

Bound for entropy and viscosity ratio of strange quark matter

High energy density (?) and temperature (T) links general relativity and hydrodynamics leading to a lower bound for the ratio of shear viscosity (η) and entropy density (s  ). We get the interesting result that the bound is saturated in the simple model for quark matter that we use for strange stars at the surface for T∼80 MeV$T\sim 80\text{MeV}$. At this T   we have the possibility of cosmic separation of phases. At the surface of the star where the pressure is zero—the density ? has a fixed value for all stars of various masses with correspondingly varying central energy density ?c${\mathrm{?}}_c$. Inside the star where this density is higher, the ratio of η/s$\eta /s$ is larger and are like the known results found for perturbative QCD. This serves as a check of our calculation. The deconfined quarks at the surface of the strange star at T=80 MeV$T=80\text{MeV}$ seem to constitute the most perfect interacting fluid permitted by nature.