Integral equation and simulation studies of a realistic model for liquid hydrogen chloride

Anharmonic effects in the quantum cluster equilibrium method

The well-established quantum cluster equilibrium (QCE) model provides a statistical thermodynamic framework to apply high-level ab initio calculations of finite cluster structures to macroscopic liquid phases using the partition function. So far, the harmonic approximation has been applied throughout the calculations. In this article, we apply an important correction in the evaluation of the one-particle partition function and account for anharmonicity. Therefore, we implemented an analytical approximation to the Morse partition function and the derivatives of its logarithm with respect to temperature, which are required for the evaluation of thermodynamic quantities. This anharmonic QCE approach has been applied to liquid hydrogen chloride and cluster distributions, and the molar volume, the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient, and the isobaric heat capacity have been calculated. An improved description for all properties is observed if anharmonic effects are considered.

TOWARDS A MOLECULAR THEORY FOR THE VAN DER WAALS–MAXWELL DESCRIPTION OF FLUID PHASE TRANSITIONS

We briefly review developments of theories for phase transitions of molecular fluids and mixtures, from semi-phenomenological approaches providing equations of state with adjustable parameters to first-principles microscopic methods qualitatively correct for a variety of molecular models with realistic interaction potentials. We further present the generalization of the van der Waals–Maxwell description of fluid phase diagrams to account for chemical specificities of polar molecular fluids, such as hydrogen bonding. Our theory uses the reference interaction site model (RISM) integral equation approach complemented with the new closure we have proposed (KH approximation), successful over a wide range of density from gas to liquid. The RISM/KH theory is applied to the known three-site models of water, methanol, and hydrogen fluoride. It qualitatively reproduces their vapor-liquid phase diagrams and the structure in the gas as well as liquid phases, including hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, phase transitions of water and methanol sorbed in nanoporous carbon aerogel are described by means of the replica generalization of the RISM approach we have developed. The changes as compared to the bulk fluids are in agreement with simulations and experiment. The RISM/KH theory is promising for description of phase transitions in various associating fluids, in particular, electrolyte as well as non-electrolyte solutions and ionic liquids.

Ab initio molecular dynamics of liquid hydrogen chloride

We carried out an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation of liquid hydrogen chloride (l-HCl) at a temperature of 313 K. Comparison with inelastic neutron scattering data shows that the simulation achieves an overall good description of the structural correlations, improving significantly upon a description based on classical interaction potentials. Despite some minor differences between theory and experiment in the H-H partial structure factor, the simulation gives a description of the hydrogen bonding in impressive agreement with experiment, for both the amount and the bond-length distribution of the bonds. In the simulation, 40% of the molecules are nonbonded, while the hydrogen-bonded chains are short, principally consisting of dimers (25%) and trimers (15%). Neighboring molecules in the simulation are found to form L-shaped arrangements, like in the isolated (HCl)(2) dimer and in crystalline phases of HCl. The time correlation of the molecular-axis orientation is found to be characterized by a very short decay time (0.13 ps), consistent with the short length of the hydrogen-bonded chains. Other dynamical properties investigated in this work include the diffusion coefficient and the vibrational density of states. We evaluated the molecular dipole of the HCl molecule in the liquid using a definition based on the coupling of rotational modes to an external electric field. The average dipole moment (1.53 D) derived in this way is found to be considerably larger than for the isolated molecule (1.11 D). Our results show that the dipole moment in [script-l]-HCl undergoes large fluctuations, both in orientation and in modulus. Upon the onset of an external field, such dipole fluctuations concur to reduce the fluctuations of the dielectric response.