Jorge Hernández-Cobos

A mobile charge densities in harmonic oscillators (MCDHO) molecular model for numerical simulations: The water–water interaction

In this work we present a new proposal to model intermolecular interactions and use it for water molecules. The parameters of the model were fitted to reproduce the single molecule’s electrostatic properties, a sample of 352 points in a refined ab initio single molecule deformation potential energy surface (PES), and the theoretical limit of the dimerization energy, −20.8 kJ/mol. The model was able to reproduce a sample of 180 additional points in the single molecule deformation PES, and 736 points in a pair-interaction surface computed at the MP2/aug-cc-pVQZ′ level with the counterpoise correction. Though the model reproduced the diagonal of the polarizability tensor, it could account for only 60% of the three-body nonadditive contributions to the interaction energies in 174 trimers computed at the MP2/6-311++(2d,2p) level with full counterpoise correction, but reproduced the four-body nonadditivities in 34 tetramers computed at the same level as the trimers. The model’s predictions of the structures, en...

Solving the hydration structure of the heaviest actinide aqua ion known: the californium(III) case.

The solution chemistry of actinide ions has been a fundamental question since the beginning of the nuclear technologies, given that the solvent stabilizes the high oxidation states of actinides. The development of procedures to avoid the migration of actinides from the already accumulated nuclear waste into natural water systems is a field of great activity. One of the primary properties of actinide ions in solution is their solvation, as it is intimately joined to complexation, precipitation, and resolution processes. The rareness and hazardousness of the heavier actinide elements, which steeply increase with the atomic number, has prevented a complete examination of the trends along the series, beyond the middle of the series. The curium cation Cm has often been considered as the heaviest actinide species characterized, and it has attracted much attention from both experimental and theoretical views in recent years. Systematic studies of the aqueous trivalent lanthanides have revealed a contraction of the metal–oxygen distance and a decrease of the total first coordination number along the series. Recent investigations using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) techniques have examined if this contraction takes place in a monotone or an irregular way along the series. The data available for the actinide series up to Cm indicates a similar contraction, 5, 7] although a conclusive answer cannot be given owing to the uncertainty of the structural data, particularly concerning the hydration number, and the scarce information on the second half of the series. Beyond the middle of the series, there is only one study reported for berkelium (Bk) and a preliminary EXAFS study for californium(III) carried out by one of us. Owing to the position of Cf in the actinide series, an accurate enough determination of the coordination number and Cf O distance could certainly shed light on the question of the actinide contraction. This objective gives the study a more fundamental than applied character, owing to the extreme rareness of this element. The most similar available crystallographic data of Cf with Cf O bonds is that of single crystals of Cf(IO3)3, which present a significantly distorted tricapped trigonal prism with a wide range of Cf O distances (2.353–2.921 ). This limited information does not meet the required level of accuracy for answering the question on the basis of a conventional EXAFS data analysis. Herein we present an alternative way to study this extreme case, by coupling new highly refined EXAFS data obtained in an actinide-dedicated beamline in the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble), with the first Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of Cf in water. Specifically developed Cf OH2 intermolecular potentials based on ab initio quantum mechanical (QM) potential energy surfaces and the polarizable and flexible MCDHO water model have been used. Figure 1 shows the experimental and fitted k-weighted EXAFS spectra of a Cf aqueous solution using two model structures, the square antiprism configuration (SA; see Figure 2a), which represents an octacoordination of water

Coupling a polarizable water model to the hydrated ion–water interaction potential: A test on the Cr3+ hydration

A strategy to build interaction potentials for describing ionic hydration of highly charged monoatomic cations by computer simulations, including the polarizable character of the solvent, is proposed. The method is based on the hydrated ion concept that has been previously tested for the case of Cr3+ aqueous solutions [J. Phys. Chem. 100, 11748 (1996)]. In the present work, the interaction potential of [Cr(H2O6)]3+ with water has been adapted to a water model that accounts for the polarizable character of the solvent by means of a mobile charge harmonic oscillator representation (MCHO model) [J. Chem. Phys. 93, 6448 (1990)]. Monte Carlo simulations of the Cr3+ hexahydrate plus 512 water molecules have been performed to study the energetics and structure of the ionic solution. The results show a significant improvement in the estimate of the hydration enthalpy [ΔHhydr(Cr3+)=−1109.6±70 kcal/mol] that now matches the experimental value within the uncertainty of this magnitude. The use of the polarizable wate...

Aqueous solvation of As(OH)3: a Monte Carlo study with flexible polarizable classical interaction potentials.

A theoretical study of the hydration of arsenious acid is presented. This study included ab initio calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. The model potentials used for the simulations were ab initio derived and they include polarizability, nonadditivity, and molecular relaxation. It is shown that with these refined potentials it is possible to reproduce the available experimental evidence and therefore permit the study of clusters, as well as of the hydration process in solution. From the study of stepwise hydration and the Monte Carlo simulation of the condensed phase it is concluded that As(OH)(3) presents a hydration scheme similar to an amphipathic molecule. This phenomenon is explained as due to the existence of both a positive electrostatic potential and a localized lone pair in the vicinity of As. These results are used to rationalize the known passage of As(OH)(3) through aqua-glyceroporines.

Liquid methanol Monte Carlo simulations with a refined potential which includes polarizability, nonadditivity, and intramolecular relaxation

Monte Carlo simulations of liquid methanol were performed using a refined ab initio derived potential which includes polarizability, nonadditivity, and intramolecular relaxation. The results present good agreement between the energetic and structural properties predicted by the model and those predicted by ab initio calculations of methanol clusters and experimental values of gas and condensed phases. The molecular level picture of methanol shows the existence of both rings and linear polymers in the methanol liquid phase.

Liquid vapor equilibria for an ab initio model for water

The vapor–liquid coexistence densities for water near the critical point were determined using a polarizable ab initio based model and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations combined with the histogram reweighting technique. The predictions of the model used, which is found to give good agreement with experimental data at ambient conditions, are far below the experimental critical temperature and density. The saturation pressure is also overestimated. The source of this discrepancy may be related to the high pressure that the model exhibits even for liquid water. Since there is no fitting to experimental data, it is possible to refine the potential in a systematic way. In particular, an improvement in the sampling of the ab initio calculation for the repulsive part of the intermolecular potential is suggested in order to obtain better agreement with experiment at high temperatures and pressures.

Water liquid-vapor equilibria predicted by refined ab initio derived potentials.

Coexistence properties for water near the critical point using several ab initio models were calculated using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations with multiple histogram reweighting techniques. These models, that have proved to yield a good reproduction of the water properties at ambient conditions, perform rather well, improving the performance of a previous ab initio model. It is also shown that bulk geometry and dipole values, predicted by the simulation, can be used and a good approximation obtained with a polarizable rigid water model but not when polarization is excluded.

Theoretical study of the aqueous solvation of HgCl2: Monte Carlo simulations using second-order Moller-Plesset-derived flexible polarizable interaction potentials

A study of the solvation of HgCl(2) including ab initio aggregates of up to 24 water molecules and the results of extensive Monte Carlo simulations for the liquid phase using MP2-derived interaction potentials is presented. The interaction potentials are flexible, polarizable, and include non-additive effects. We conclude that a cluster description of the solvation mechanism is limited when compared to the condensed phase. The molecular image derived from the MC simulations is peculiar. It resembles that of a hydrophobic solute, which explains the rather easy passage of this neutral molecule through the cell membrane; however, it also shows an intermittent binding of one, two, or three water molecules to HgCl(2) in the fashion of a hydrophilic solute.

Water models based on a single potential energy surface and different molecular degrees of freedom

Up to now it has not been possible to neatly assess whether a deficient performance of a model is due to poor parametrization of the force field or the lack of inclusion of enough molecular properties. This work compares several molecular models in the framework of the same force field, which was designed to include many-body nonadditive effects: (a) a polarizable and flexible molecule with constraints that account for the quantal nature of the vibration [B. Hess, H. Saint-Martin, and H. J. C. Berendsen, J. Chem. Phys. 116, 9602 (2002), H. Saint-Martin, B. Hess, and H. J. C. Berendsen, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 11133 (2004)], (b) a polarizable and classically flexible molecule [H. Saint-Martin, J. Hernandez-Cobos, M. I. Bernal-Uruchurtu, I. Ortega-Blake, and H. J. C. Berendsen, J. Chem. Phys. 113, 10899 (2000)], (c) a polarizable and rigid molecule, and finally (d) a nonpolarizable and rigid molecule. The goal is to determine how significant the different molecular properties are. The results indicate that all factors--nonadditivity, polarizability, and intramolecular flexibility--are important. Still, approximations can be made in order to diminish the computational cost of the simulations with a small decrease in the accuracy of the predictions, provided that those approximations are counterbalanced by the proper inclusion of an effective molecular property, that is, an average molecular geometry or an average dipole. Hence instead of building an effective force field by parametrizing it in order to reproduce the properties of a specific phase, a building approach is proposed that is based on adequately restricting the molecular flexibility and/or polarizability of a model potential fitted to unimolecular properties, pair interactions, and many-body nonadditive contributions. In this manner, the same parental model can be used to simulate the same substance under a wide range of thermodynamic conditions. An additional advantage of this approach is that, as the force field improves by the quality of the molecular calculations, all levels of modeling can be improved.

Comment on “Examining the influence of the [Zn(H2O)6]2+ geometry change on the Monte Carlo simulations of Zn2+ in water” [J. Chem. Phys. 105, 5968 (1996)]

Here we present a study to investigate further the influence of a model assuming a rigid hexahydrate for ion solvation, compared to fully relaxed studies having polarization and nonadditive effects. It is found that the model is suited for ions that really have a depletion layer after their first hydration shell, otherwise the model will impose it. In particular, small distortions in the Zn2+ hexahydrate lead to small modifications of the enthalpy, but there are other effects that lead to an appreciable difference in the predicted hydration energy of the ion.