Dynamical properties of hydrogen bonded liquids

Ultrafast Rotational and Translational Energy Relaxation in Neat Liquids

The excess energy flow pathways during rotational and translational relaxation induced by rotational or translational excitation of a single molecule of and within each of four different neat liquids (H₂O, MeOH, CCl₄, and CH₄) are studied using classical molecular dynamics simulations and energy flux analysis. For all four liquids, the relaxation processes for both types of excitation are ultrafast, but the energy flow is significantly faster for the polar, hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) liquids H₂O and MeOH. Whereas the majority of the initial excess energy is transferred into hindered rotations (librations) for rotational excitation in the H-bonded liquids, an almost equal efficiency for transfer to translational and rotational motions is observed in the nonpolar, non-H-bonded liquids CCl₄ and CH₄. For translational excitation, transfer to translational motions dominates for all liquids. In general, the energy flows are quite local; i.e., more than 70% of the energy flows directly to the first solvent shell molecules, reaching almost 100% for CCl₄ and CH₄. Finally, the determined validity of linear response theory for these nonequilibrium relaxation processes is quite solvent-dependent, with the deviation from linear response most marked for rotational excitation and for the nonpolar liquids.

Switching off hydrogen-bond-driven excitation modes in liquid methanol

Hydrogen bonding plays an essential role on intermolecular forces, and consequently on the thermodynamics of materials defined by this elusive bonding character. It determines the property of a vital liquid as water as well as many processes crucial for life. The longstanding controversy on the nature of the hydrogen bond (HB) can be settled by looking at the effect of a vanishing HB interaction on the microscopic properties of a given hydrogen-bonded fluid. This task suits the capabilities of computer simulations techniques, which allow to easily switch off HB interactions. We then use molecular dynamics to study the microscopic properties of methanol, a prototypical HB liquid. Fundamental aspects of the dynamics of methanol at room temperature were contextualised only very recently and its rich dynamics was found to have striking analogies with that of water. The lower temperature (200 K) considered in the present study led us to observe that the molecular centre-of-mass dynamics is dominated by four modes. Most importantly, the computational ability to switch on and off hydrogen bonds permitted us to identify which, among these modes, have a pure HB-origin. This clarifies the role of hydrogen bonds in liquid dynamics, disclosing new research opportunities and unexplored interpretation schemes.

Collective High Frequency Motions in Liquid Deuterium Fluoride

The collective motions in liquid deuterium fluoride (DF) have been investigated by neutron scattering motivated by a MD simulation, which predicted an optic-type mode at small momentum transfers. Spectra of the measured longitudinal current correlation function show two modes. The lower frequency one originates from acoustic-type movements. The intensity of the higher frequency excitation can be attributed to an out of phase motion of neighboring DF molecules, an optic-type mode. Both, the frequencies and the intensity distribution in momentum space agree well with the MD simulation. The widths of the experimental spectra exceed the widths from the MD simulation and indicate missing relaxation processes in the simulation.

Probing the Local Structure of Liquid Water by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy†

It was recently suggested that liquid water primarily comprises hydrogen-bonded rings and chains, as opposed to the traditionally accepted locally tetrahedral structure (Wernet et al. Science 2004, 304, 995). This controversial conclusion was primarily based on comparison between experimental and calculated X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) using computer-generated ice-like 11-molecule clusters. Here we present calculations which conclusively show that when hydrogen-bonding configurations are chosen randomly, the calculated XAS does not reproduce the experimental XAS regardless of the bonding model employed (i.e., rings and chains vs tetrahedral). Furthermore, we also present an analysis of a recently introduced asymmetric water potential (Soper, A. K. J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 2005, 17, S3273), which is representative of the rings and chains structure, and make comparisons with the standard SPC/E potential, which represents the locally tetrahedral structure. We find that the calculated XAS from both potentials is inconsistent with the experimental XAS. However, we also show the calculated electric field distribution from the rings and chains structure is strongly bimodal and highly inconsistent with the experimental Raman spectrum, thus casting serious doubt on the validity of the rings and chains model for liquid water.