Molecular dynamics study of wetting of alkanes on water: from high temperature to the supercooled region and the influence of second inflection points of interfacial tensions

To explore the wetting behavior of alkanes on bulk water interfaces, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out for united-atom PYS alkane models, and for SPC/E and TIP4P/2005 water models over a wide temperature range. The MD results at each temperature were used to find (1) the surface tension of the alkanes (octane, nonane) and water, and (2) the interfacial tensions of the alkane-water systems. These quantities were then used to calculate the spreading coefficient (S) and contact angle (θc) for each alkane on water. At higher temperatures, the contact angle of octane and nonane on water is found to behave in accord with conventional expectations, i.e., it decreases with increasing temperature for both water models as each system approaches the usual high-temperature transition to perfect wetting. At lower temperatures, we found an unusual temperature dependence of S and θc for each PYS alkane on SPC/E water. In contrast to conventional expectations, θc decreases with a decrease in the temperature. For octane-SPC/E water, this unusual behavior of θc occurs due to the presence of second inflection points (SIP) in the vapor-water and the octane-water interfacial tensions, whereas the SIP effect is much less important for the nonane-water system. The unusual temperature dependence of θc observed for nonane on SPC/E water is also found for nonane on TIP4P/2005 water. On the other hand, such unusual wetting behavior has not been observed in the PYS octane-TIP4P/2005 water system, except possibly for the two lowest temperatures studied.

Structural and Dynamic Heterogeneity of Capillary Wave Fronts at Aqueous Interfaces

Using a unique combination of slab-layering analyses and identification of truly interfacial molecules, this work examines water/vapor and water/n-hexane interfaces, specifically the structural and dynamic perturbations of the interfacial water molecules at different locations within the surface capillary waves. From both the structural and dynamic properties analyzed, it is found that these interfacial water molecules dominate the perturbations within the interfacial region, which can extend deep into the water phase relative to the Gibbs dividing surface. Of more importance is the demonstration of structural and dynamic heterogeneity of the interfacial water molecules at the capillary wave front, as indicated by the dipole orientation and the structural and dynamic behavior of hydrogen bonds and their networks.