J. L. F. Abascal

A general purpose model for the condensed phases of water: TIP4P/2005

A potential model intended to be a general purpose model for the condensed phases of water is presented. TIP4P/2005 is a rigid four site model which consists of three fixed point charges and one Lennard-Jones center. The parametrization has been based on a fit of the temperature of maximum density (indirectly estimated from the melting point of hexagonal ice), the stability of several ice polymorphs and other commonly used target quantities. The calculated properties include a variety of thermodynamic properties of the liquid and solid phases, the phase diagram involving condensed phases, properties at melting and vaporization, dielectric constant, pair distribution function, and self-diffusion coefficient. These properties cover a temperature range from 123 to 573 K and pressures up to 40,000 bar. The model gives an impressive performance for this variety of properties and thermodynamic conditions. For example, it gives excellent predictions for the densities at 1 bar with a maximum density at 278 K and an averaged difference with experiment of 7 x 10(-4) g/cm3.

A potential model for the study of ices and amorphous water: TIP4P/Ice

The ability of several water models to predict the properties of ices is discussed. The emphasis is put on the results for the densities and the coexistence curves between the different ice forms. It is concluded that none of the most commonly used rigid models is satisfactory. A new model specifically designed to cope with solid-phase properties is proposed. The parameters have been obtained by fitting the equation of state and selected points of the melting lines and of the coexistence lines involving different ice forms. The phase diagram is then calculated for the new potential. The predicted melting temperature of hexagonal ice (Ih) at 1 bar is 272.2 K. This excellent value does not imply a deterioration of the rest of the properties. In fact, the predictions for both the densities and the coexistence curves are better than for TIP4P, which previously yielded the best estimations of the ice properties.

The melting temperature of the most common models of water

The melting temperature of ice I(h) for several commonly used models of water (SPC, SPC/E,TIP3P,TIP4P, TIP4P/Ew, and TIP5P) is obtained from computer simulations at p = 1 bar. Since the melting temperature of ice I(h) for the TIP4P model is now known [E. Sanz, C. Vega, J. L. F. Abascal, and L. G. MacDowell, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 255701 (2004)], it is possible to use the Gibbs-Duhem methodology [D. Kofke, J. Chem. Phys. 98, 4149 (1993)] to evaluate the melting temperature of ice I(h) for other potential models of water. We have found that the melting temperatures of ice I(h) for SPC, SPC/E, TIP3P, TIP4P, TIP4P/Ew, and TIP5P models are T = 190 K, 215 K, 146 K, 232 K, 245 K, and 274 K, respectively. The relative stability of ice I(h) with respect to ice II for these models has also been considered. It turns out that for SPC, SPC/E, TIP3P, and TIP5P the stable phase at the normal melting point is ice II (so that ice I(h) is not a thermodynamically stable phase for these models). For TIP4P and TIP4P/Ew, ice I(h) is the stable solid phase at the standard melting point. The location of the negative charge along the H-O-H bisector appears as a critical factor in the determination of the relative stability between the I(h) and II ice forms. The methodology proposed in this paper can be used to investigate the effect upon a coexistence line due to a change in the potential parameters.

The melting point of ice Ih for common water models calculated from direct coexistence of the solid-liquid interface

In this work we present an implementation for the calculation of the melting point of ice I(h) from direct coexistence of the solid-liquid interface. We use molecular dynamics simulations of boxes containing liquid water and ice in contact. The implementation is based on the analysis of the evolution of the total energy along NpT simulations at different temperatures. We report the calculation of the melting point of ice I(h) at 1 bar for seven water models: SPC/E, TIP4P, TIP4P-Ew, TIP4P/ice, TIP4P/2005, TIP5P, and TIP5P-E. The results for the melting temperature from the direct coexistence simulations of this work are in agreement (within the statistical uncertainty) with those obtained previously by us from free energy calculations. By taking into account the results of this work and those of our free energy calculations, recommended values of the melting point of ice I(h) at 1 bar for the above mentioned water models are provided.

Determination of phase diagrams via computer simulation: methodology and applications to water, electrolytes and proteins

In this review we focus on the determination of phase diagrams by computer simulation, with particular attention to the fluid–solid and solid–solid equilibria. The methodology to compute the free energy of solid phases will be discussed. In particular, the Einstein crystal and Einstein molecule methodologies are described in a comprehensive way. It is shown that both methodologies yield the same free energies and that free energies of solid phases present noticeable finite size effects. In fact, this is the case for hard spheres in the solid phase. Finite size corrections can be introduced, although in an approximate way, to correct for the dependence of the free energy on the size of the system. The computation of free energies of solid phases can be extended to molecular fluids. The procedure to compute free energies of solid phases of water (ices) will be described in detail. The free energies of ices Ih, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XI and XII will be presented for the SPC/E and TIP4P models of water. Initial coexistence points leading to the determination of the phase diagram of water for these two models will be provided. Other methods to estimate the melting point of a solid, such as the direct fluid–solid coexistence or simulations of the free surface of the solid, will be discussed. It will be shown that the melting points of ice Ih for several water models, obtained from free energy calculations, direct coexistence simulations and free surface simulations agree within their statistical uncertainty. Phase diagram calculations can indeed help to improve potential models of molecular fluids. For instance, for water, the potential model TIP4P/2005 can be regarded as an improved version of TIP4P. Here we will review some recent work on the phase diagram of the simplest ionic model, the restricted primitive model. Although originally devised to describe ionic liquids, the model is becoming quite popular to describe the behavior of charged colloids. Moreover, the possibility of obtaining fluid–solid equilibria for simple protein models will be discussed. In these primitive models, the protein is described by a spherical potential with certain anisotropic bonding sites (patchy sites). (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)

Widom line and the liquid–liquid critical point for the TIP4P/2005 water model

The Widom line and the liquid-liquid critical point of water in the deeply supercooled region are investigated via computer simulation of the TIP4P/2005 model. The Widom line has been calculated as the locus of compressibility maxima. It is quite close to the experimental homogeneous nucleation line and, in the region studied, it is almost parallel to the curve of temperatures of maximum density at fixed pressure. The critical temperature is determined by examining which isotherm has a region with flat slope. An interpolation in the Widom line gives the rest of the critical parameters. The computed critical parameters are T(c)=193 K, p(c)=1350 bar, and ρ(c)=1.012 g/cm(3). Given the performance of the model for the anomalous properties of water and for the properties of ice phases, the calculated critical parameters are probably close to those of real water.

The shear viscosity of rigid water models

In this work, the shear viscosity at ambient conditions of several water models (SPC/E, TIP4P, TIP5P, and TIP4P/2005) is evaluated using the Green-Kubo formalism. The performance of TIP4P/2005 is excellent, that of SPC/E and TIP5P is more or less acceptable, whereas TIP4P and especially TIP3P give a poor agreement with experiment. Further calculations have been carried out for TIP4P/2005 to provide a wider assessment of its performance. In accordance with experimental data, TIP4P/2005 predicts a minimum in the shear viscosity for the 273 K isotherm, a shift in the minimum toward lower pressures at 298 K, and its disappearance at 373 K.

Vapor-liquid equilibria from the triple point up to the critical point for the new generation of TIP4P-like models: TIP4P/Ew, TIP4P/2005, and TIP4P/ice

The vapor-liquid equilibria of three recently proposed water models have been computed using Gibbs-Duhem simulations. These models are TIP4P/Ew, TIP4P/2005, and TIP4P/ice and can be considered as modified versions of the TIP4P model. By design TIP4P reproduces the vaporization enthalpy of water at room temperature, whereas TIP4P/Ew and TIP4P/2005 match the temperature of maximum density and TIP4P/ice the melting temperature of water. Recently, the melting point for each of these models has been computed, making it possible for the first time to compute the complete vapor-liquid equilibria curve from the triple point to the critical point. From the coexistence results at high temperature, it is possible to estimate the critical properties of these models. None of them is capable of reproducing accurately the critical pressure or the vapor pressures and densities. Additionally, in the cases of TIP4P and TIP4P/ice the critical temperatures are too low and too high, respectively, compared to the experimental value. However, models accounting for the density maximum of water, such as TIP4P/Ew and TIP4P/2005 provide a better estimate of the critical temperature. In particular, TIP4P/2005 provides a critical temperature just 7 K below the experimental result as well as an extraordinarily good description of the liquid densities from the triple point to the critical point. All TIP4P-like models present a ratio of the triple point temperature to the critical point temperature of about 0.39, compared with the experimental value of 0.42. As is the case for any effective potential neglecting many body forces, TIP4P/2005 fails in describing simultaneously the vapor and the liquid phases of water. However, it can be considered as one of the best effective potentials of water for describing condensed phases, both liquid and solid. In fact, it provides a completely coherent view of the phase diagram of water including fluid-solid, solid-solid, and vapor-liquid equilibria.

Anomalies in water as obtained from computer simulations of the TIP4P/2005 model: density maxima, and density, isothermal compressibility and heat capacity minima

The so-called thermodynamic anomalies of water form an integral part of the peculiar behaviour of this both important and ubiquitous molecule. In this paper our aim is to establish whether the recently proposed TIP4P/2005 model is capable of reproducing a number of these anomalies. Using molecular dynamics simulations we investigate both the maximum in density and the minimum in the isothermal compressibility along a number of isobars. It is shown that the model correctly describes the decrease in the temperature of the density maximum with increasing pressure. At atmospheric pressure the model exhibits an additional minimum in density at a temperature of about 200K, in good agreement with recent experimental work on super-cooled confined water. The model also presents a minimum in the isothermal compressibility close to 310K. We have also investigated the atmospheric pressure isobar for three other water models; the SPC/E and TIP4P models also present a minimum in the isothermal compressibility, although at a considerably lower temperature than the experimental one. For the temperature range considered no such minimum is found for the TIP5P model.

Relation between the melting temperature and the temperature of maximum density for the most common models of water

Water exhibits a maximum in density at normal pressure at 4 degrees above its melting point. The reproduction of this maximum is a stringent test for potential models used commonly in simulations of water. The relation between the melting temperature and the temperature of maximum density for these potential models is unknown mainly due to our ignorance about the melting temperature of these models. Recently we have determined the melting temperature of ice I(h) for several commonly used models of water (SPC, SPC/E, TIP3P, TIP4P, TIP4P/Ew, and TIP5P). In this work we locate the temperature of maximum density for these models. In this way the relative location of the temperature of maximum density with respect to the melting temperature is established. For SPC, SPC/E, TIP3P, TIP4P, and TIP4P/Ew the maximum in density occurs at about 21-37 K above the melting temperature. In all these models the negative charge is located either on the oxygen itself or on a point along the H-O-H bisector. For the TIP5P and TIP5P-E models the maximum in density occurs at about 11 K above the melting temperature. The location of the negative charge appears as a geometrical crucial factor to the relative position of the temperature of maximum density with respect to the melting temperature.