Molecular dynamics simulation study of water adsorption on hydroxylated graphite surfaces

In this paper, we present results from molecular dynamic simulations devoted to the characterization of the interaction between water molecules and hydroxylated graphite surfaces considered as models for surfaces of soot emitted by aircraft. The hydroxylated graphite surfaces are modeled by anchoring several OH groups on an infinite graphite plane. The molecular dynamics simulations are based on a classical potential issued from quantum chemical calculations. They are performed at three temperatures (100, 200, and 250 K) to provide a view of the structure and dynamics of water clusters on the model soot surface. These simulations show that the water-OH sites interaction is quite weak compared to the water-water interaction. This leads to the clustering of the water molecules above the surface, and the corresponding water aggregate can only be trapped by the OH sites when the temperature is sufficiently low, or when the density of OH sites is sufficiently high.