Article
Structure of Hydrated Gibbsite and Brucite Edge Surfaces: DFT Results and Further Development of the ClayFF Classical Force Field with Metal-O-H Angle Bending Terms
Molecular scale understanding of the structure and properties of aqueous interfaces with clays, metal (oxy-) hydroxides, layered double hydroxides, and other inorganic phases is strongly affected by significant degrees of structural and compositional disorder of the interfaces. ClayFF was originally developed as a robust and flexible force field for classical molecular simulations of such systems (Cygan, R. T.; Liang, J.-J.; Kalinichev, A. G. J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 1255-1266). However, despite its success, multiple limitations have also become evident with its use. One of the most important limitations is the difficulty to accurately model the edges of finite size nanoparticles or pores rather than infinitely layered periodic structures. Here we propose a systematic approach to solve this problem by developing specific metal-O-H (M-O-H) bending terms for ClayFF, Ebend = k (theta - theta0)**2 to better describe the structure and dynamics of singly protonated hydroxyl groups at mineral surfaces, particularly edge surfaces. On the basis of a series of DFT calculations, the optimal values of the Al-O-H and Mg-O-H parameters for Al and Mg in octahedral coordination are determined to be theta0(AlOH) = theta0(MgOH) = 110°, k(AlOH) = 15 kcal mol(-1) rad(-2) and k(MgOH) = 6 kcal mol(-1) rad(-2). Molecular dynamics simulations were performed for fully hydrated models of the basal and edge surfaces of gibbsite, Al(OH)3, and brucite, Mg(OH)2, at the DFT level of theory and at the classical level, using ClayFF with and without the M-O-H term. The addition of the new bending term leads to a much more accurate representation of the orientation of O-H groups at the basal and edge surfaces. The previously observed unrealistic desorption of OH2 groups from the particle edges within the original ClayFF model is also strongly constrained by the new modification.
The quantum nuclear effects are studied in water using centroid molecular dynamics (CMD) method. The aim is the calibration of CMD implementation in LAMMPS. The calculated intramolecular energy, atoms gyration radii and radial distribution functions are shown in comparison with previous works. The work is assumed to be the step toward to solution of the discrepancy between the simulation results and the experimental data of liquid n-alkane properties in our previous works.
A new approach has been developed to synthesize manganese-containing titanium dioxide materials by hydrolysis of titanyl sulfate. The samples were studied by a complex of methods (synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy). The sequence of the added reagents effects the phase composition (anatase or mixtures of anatase and “η-TiO2”), size of crystallites, nanoparticles and agglomerates, manganese content, and oxidation state (Mn3+, Mn2+/Mn3+, or Mn3+/Mn4+). The Mn-doped TiO2 samples have been proven to have high photocatalytic activity for methyl orange (MO) under visible light. The rate of MO degradation reached 0.0046 min−1 (50 % in 150 min) for the sample containing a mixture of anatase (75 %) and “η-TiO2” (25 %) with a high degree of amorphism; the sample is characterized by the smallest size of crystallites (44.3 Å), the largest size of nanoparticles (33 nm) and agglomerates (10 μm), and the lowest manganese content (0.3 at. %) with the ratio Mn3+:Mn4+ = 1:1. The resultant Mn-doped titania has potential applications in photocatalysis and environmental protection.
It is well recognized that excessive ice accumulation at low-temperature conditions can cause significant damage to civil infrastructure. The passive anti-icing surfaces provide a promising solution to suppress ice nucleation and enhance ice removal. However, despite extensive efforts, it remains a challenge to design anti-icing surfaces with low ice adhesion. Using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we show that surfaces with single-walled carbon nanotube array (CNTA) significantly reduce ice adhesion due to the extremely low solid areal fraction. It was found that the CNTA surface exhibits up to a 45% decrease in the ice adhesion strength in comparison with the atomically smooth graphene surface. The details of the ice detachment from the CNTA surface were examined for different water-carbon interaction energies and temperatures of the ice cube. Remarkably, the results of MD simulations demonstrate that the ice detaching strength depends linearly on the ratio of the ice-surface interaction energy and the ice temperature. These results open the possibility for designing novel robust surfaces with low ice adhesion for passive anti-icing applications.
Molecular-level knowledge of the thermodynamic, structural, and transport properties of water confined by interfaces and nanopores of various materials is crucial for quantitative understanding and prediction of many natural and technological processes, including carbon sequestration, water desalination, nuclear waste storage, cement chemistry, fuel cell technology, etc. Computational molecular modeling is capable to significantly complement the experimental investigations of such systems by providing invaluable atomic-scale information leading to improved understanding of the specific effects of the substrate structure and composition on the structure, dynamics and reactivity of interfacial and nano-confined aqueous solutions. This paper offers a brief overview of recent efforts to quantify some of these effects for individual H2O molecules and hydrated ions confined at the interfaces and in nanopores of several typical hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials. The first molecular layer of aqueous solution at all substrates is often highly ordered, indicating reduced translational and orientational mobility of the H2O molecules. This ordering cannot be simply described as “ice-like”, but rather resembles the behavior of supercooled water or amorphous ice, although with very significant substrate-specific variations.
In this work, we perform coexistence simulations of methane hydrates for pressures up to 5000 bar for different water models. We calculate the kinetic stability boundary of the superheated metastable sI structure and analyze the effects of the heating rate, system size and cage occupancy. We also report molecular dynamics simulation of several possible structuresfor the new hydrogen hydrate clathrate. We show the strength of molecular simulation as a supplement tool for the analysis of experimental data. © 2015 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cooling of tokamak boundary plasma owing to radiation of non-fully stripped lithium ions is considered as a promising way for protection of plasma facing elements (PFE) in tokamak. It may be effectively realized when the main part of lithium ions are involved in the closed circuit of migration between plasma and PFE surface. Such an approach may be implemented with the use of lithium device whose hot (500-600 °C) area to be effected by plasma serves as a Li-emitter and the cold part (∼180 °C) as a Li-collector in the shadow. Capillary-pore system (CPS) provides the returning of collected and condensed lithium to emitting zone by capillary forces. The main goals of the last T-11M lithium experiments were investigating Li ions transport in the tokamak scrape of layer (SOL) and their collecting by different kinds of limiters. The design of devices based on lithium CPS with different ratio of emitting/collecting area is the main subject of this paper. © 2015 The Authors.
The dynamics of a two-component Davydov-Scott (DS) soliton with a small mismatch of the initial location or velocity of the high-frequency (HF) component was investigated within the framework of the Zakharov-type system of two coupled equations for the HF and low-frequency (LF) fields. In this system, the HF field is described by the linear Schrödinger equation with the potential generated by the LF component varying in time and space. The LF component in this system is described by the Korteweg-de Vries equation with a term of quadratic influence of the HF field on the LF field. The frequency of the DS soliton`s component oscillation was found analytically using the balance equation. The perturbed DS soliton was shown to be stable. The analytical results were confirmed by numerical simulations.
Radiation conditions are described for various space regions, radiation-induced effects in spacecraft materials and equipment components are considered and information on theoretical, computational, and experimental methods for studying radiation effects are presented. The peculiarities of radiation effects on nanostructures and some problems related to modeling and radiation testing of such structures are considered.
Let G be a semisimple algebraic group whose decomposition into the product of simple components does not contain simple groups of type A, and P⊆G be a parabolic subgroup. Extending the results of Popov [7], we enumerate all triples (G, P, n) such that (a) there exists an open G-orbit on the multiple flag variety G/P × G/P × . . . × G/P (n factors), (b) the number of G-orbits on the multiple flag variety is finite.
I give the explicit formula for the (set-theoretical) system of Resultants of m+1 homogeneous polynomials in n+1 variables