Comparison of interaction potentials of liquid water with respect to their consistency with neutron diffraction data of pure heavy water

Comparison of molecular dynamics simulations of water with neutron and X-ray scattering experiments

The atomistic structure and dynamics obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with the example of TIP3P (rigid and flexible) and TIP4P/2005 (rigid) water is compared to neutron and X-ray scattering data at ambient conditions. Neutron and X-ray diffractograms are calculated from the simulations for four isotopic substitutions as well as the incoherent intermediate scattering function for neutrons. The resulting curves are compared to each other and to published experimental data. Differences between simulated and measured intermediate scattering functions are quantified by fitting an analytic model to the computed values. The sensitivity of the scattering curves to the parameters of the MD simulations is demonstrated on the example of two parameters, bond length and angle.

Understanding the effect of nanoconfinement on the structure of water hydrogen bond networks

Dynamic hydrogen bond trails in water confined between two phospholipid membranes traced by the information flow model.

Decreasing temperature enhances the formation of sixfold hydrogen bonded rings in water-rich water-methanol mixtures

The evolution of the structure of liquid water-methanol mixtures as a function of temperature has been studied by molecular dynamics simulations, with a focus on hydrogen bonding. The combination of the OPLS-AA (all atom) potential model of methanol and the widely used SPC/E water model has provided excellent agreement with measured X-ray diffraction data over the temperature range between 298 and 213 K, for mixtures with methanol molar fractions of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4. Hydrogen bonds (HB-s) have been identified via a combined geometric/energetic, as well as via a purely geometric definition. The number of recognizable hydrogen bonded ring structures in some cases doubles while lowering the temperature from 298 to 213 K; the number of sixfold rings increases most significantly. An evolution towards the structure of hexagonal ice, that contains only sixfold hydrogen bonded rings, has thus been detected on cooling water-methanol mixtures.

The structure of liquid water beyond the first hydration shell

Distance dependent excess entropy calculations reveal that water is tetrahedrally structured up to long distances.

Investigation of the structure of ethanol-water mixtures by molecular dynamics simulation I: analyses concerning the hydrogen-bonded pairs

Series of molecular dynamics simulations for ethanol-water mixtures with 20-80 mol % ethanol content, pure ethanol, and water were performed. In each mixture, for ethanol the OPLS force field was used, combined with three different water force fields, the SPC/E, the TIP4P-2005, and the SWM4-DP. Water potential models were distinguished on the basis of deviations between calculated and measured total scattering X-ray structure factors aided by ethanol-water pair binding energy comparison. No single water force field could provide the best agreement with experimental data at all concentrations: at the ethanol content of 80% the SWM-DP, for 60 mol % the SWM4-DP and the TIP4P-2005, whereas for the 40 and 20 mol % mixtures TIP4P-2005 water force field provided the closest match. Coordination numbers and hydrogen bonds/molecule values were calculated, revealing that the oxygen-oxygen first coordination numbers strongly overestimate the average number of hydrogen bonds/molecule. The center-of-molecule distributions indicate that the ethanol-ethanol first coordination sphere expands with increasing water concentration while the size of the first water-water coordination sphere does not change. Various two and three-dimensional distributions were calculated that reveal the differences between simulations with different water force fields. Detailed conformational analyses of the hydrogen-bonded pairs were performed; drawings of the characteristic molecular arrangements are provided.

A continuous mixture of two different dimers in liquid water

Liquid water is formed by a continuous mixture of two different dimers (cis and trans) with distinct energies related to different relative water molecule orientations.

Systematic improvement of a classical molecular model of water

We report the iAMOEBA ("inexpensive AMOEBA") classical polarizable water model. The iAMOEBA model uses a direct approximation to describe electronic polarizability, in which the induced dipoles are determined directly from the permanent multipole electric fields and do not interact with one another. The direct approximation reduces the computational cost relative to a fully self-consistent polarizable model such as AMOEBA. The model is parameterized using ForceBalance, a systematic optimization method that simultaneously utilizes training data from experimental measurements and high-level ab initio calculations. We show that iAMOEBA is a highly accurate model for water in the solid, liquid, and gas phases, with the ability to fully capture the effects of electronic polarization and predict a comprehensive set of water properties beyond the training data set including the phase diagram. The increased accuracy of iAMOEBA over the fully polarizable AMOEBA model demonstrates ForceBalance as a method that allows the researcher to systematically improve empirical models by efficiently utilizing the available data.

The Radial Distribution Functions of Water as Derived from Radiation Total Scattering Experiments: Is There Anything We Can Say for Sure?

The present paper reviews the investigation of ambient water structure and focusses in particular on the determination of the radial distribution functions of water from total experimental radiation scattering experiments. A novel method for removing the inelastic scattering from neutron data is introduced, and the effect of Compton scattering on X-ray data is discussed. In addition the extent to which quantum effects can be discerned between heavy and light water is analysed against these more recent data. It is concluded that, with the help of modern data analysis and computer simulation tools to interrogate the scattering data, a considerable degree of consistency can be obtained between recent and past scattering experiments on water. That consistency also gives a realistic estimate of the likely uncertainties in the extracted radial distribution functions, as well as offering a benchmark against which future experiments can be judged.

A flexible model for water based on TIP4P/2005

A new flexible water model, TIP4P/2005f, is developed. The idea was to add intramolecular degrees of freedom to the successful rigid model TIP4P/2005 in order to try to improve the predictions for some properties, and to enable the calculation of new ones. The new model incorporates flexibility by means of a Morse potential for the bond stretching and a harmonic term for the angle bending. The parameters have been fitted to account for the peaks of the infrared spectrum of liquid water and to produce an averaged geometry close to that of TIP4P/2005. As for the intermolecular interactions, only a small change in the σ parameter of the Lennard-Jones potential has been introduced. The overall predictions are very close to those of TIP4P/2005. This ensures that the new model may be used with the same confidence as its predecessor in studies where a flexible model is advisable.

An approach towards understanding the structure of complex molecular systems: the case of lower aliphatic alcohols

An extensive study of liquid aliphatic alcohols methanol, ethanol, and propanol, applying reverse Monte Carlo modelling as a method of interpretation of diffraction data, is presented. The emphasis is on the evaluation of several computational strategies in view of their suitability to obtain high quality molecular models via the reverse Monte Carlo procedure. A consistent set of distances of closest approach and fixed neighbour constraints applicable to all three investigated systems was developed. An all-atom description is compared with a united-atom approach. The potentialities of employment of neutron diffraction data of completely deuterated and isotopically substituted samples, x-ray diffraction data, and results of either molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo calculations were investigated. Results show that parallel application of x-ray and neutron diffraction data, the latter being from completely deuterated samples, within an all-atom reverse Monte Carlo procedure is the most successful strategy towards attaining reliable, detailed, and well-structured molecular models, especially if the models are subsequently refined with the results of molecular dynamics simulations.