Microscopic origin of breakdown of Stokes-Einstein relation in binary mixtures: Inherent structure analysis

Glassy dynamics in a liquid of anisotropic molecules: Bifurcation of relaxation spectrum

In experimental and theoretical studies of glass transition phenomena, one often finds a sharp crossover in dynamical properties at a temperature Tcr. A bifurcation of a relaxation spectrum is also observed at a temperature TB≈Tcr; both lie significantly above the glass transition temperature. In order to better understand these phenomena, we introduce a new model of glass-forming liquids, a binary mixture of prolate and oblate ellipsoids. This model system exhibits sharp thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies, such as the specific heat jump during heating and a sharp variation in the thermal expansion coefficient around a temperature identified as the glass transition temperature, Tg. The same temperature is obtained from the fit of the calculated relaxation times to the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann (VFT) form. As the temperature is lowered, the calculated single peak rotational relaxation spectrum splits into two peaks at TB above the estimated Tg. Similar bifurcation is also observed in the distribution of short-to-intermediate time translational diffusion. Interrogation of the two peaks reveals a lower extent of dynamic heterogeneity in the population of the faster mode. We observe an unexpected appearance of a sharp peak in the product of rotational relaxation time τ2 and diffusion constant D at a temperature Tcr, close to TB, but above the glass transition temperature. Additionally, we coarse-grain the system into cubic boxes, each containing, on average, ∼62 particles, to study the average dynamical properties. Clear evidence of large-scale sudden changes in the diffusion coefficient and rotational correlation time signals first-order transitions between low and high-mobility domains.

Anomalous Concentration Dependence of Viscosity: Hidden Role of Cross-Correlations in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions

The viscosity of aqueous electrolyte solutions exhibits well-known composition-dependent anomalies that show certain definitive trends and universal features. The viscosity of LiCl and NaCl solutions increases with concentration in a monotonic fashion, while solutions of KCl, RbCl, and CsCl exhibit a more complex behavior. Here, the viscosity first decreases and then increases with increasing concentration, with a rather broad minimum at intermediate concentrations (ca. 1-3 m). To unearth the origin of such puzzling behavior, we carried out detailed molecular-level analyses by interrogating the exact Green-Kubo expression of viscosity in terms of the stress-stress time correlation function (SS-TCF). The total SS-TCF can be decomposed into a collection of three self- and three cross-SS-TCFs arising from the three constituent components (water, cations, and anions). Mode coupling theory (MCT) analysis for the friction on ions and the viscosity of the solution suggests the possible importance of two-particle static and time-dependent cross-correlations between water and the ions. We calculate the viscosity and other dynamical properties for all five electrolyte (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, RbCl, and CsCl) solutions over a range of concentrations, using two models of water (SPC/E and TIP4P/2005). The total viscosity derives non-negligible contributions from all of the terms. The cross-correlations are found to be surprisingly large and seen to play a hidden role in the concentration dependence. However, the importance of cross-correlations is often not discussed. Our study leads to a theoretical understanding of the microscopic origin of the observed anomalies in the composition dependence of viscosity across all five electrolytes.

Diffusion coefficient scaling of a free Brownian particle with velocity-dependent damping

An analytical expression for the diffusion coefficient D of a free Brownian particle with velocity-dependent damping γ(v) is derived from the Green-Kubo formula. A special case of damping that decreases monotonically with velocity is considered. At high temperature T, the diffusion coefficient is found to exhibit two scaling types: (i) for a power-law decrease of damping with the particle's kinetic energy, γ(v)∝1/v^{2α}, it scales as D∝T^{α+1}; (ii) for a Gaussian function γ(v), it diverges at temperatures above a critical value T_{c} and behaves as D∝1/sqrt[T_{c}-T] at T slightly below T_{c}. At T>T_{c}, the particle trajectory contains long flight events, which are not observed at T<T_{c} in case (ii) and at all temperatures in case (i).

Non-monotonic composition dependence of the breakdown of Stokes-Einstein relation for water in aqueous solutions of ethanol and 1-propanol: explanation using translational jump-diffusion approach

A series of experimental and simulation studies examined the validity of the Stokes-Einstein relationship (SER) of water in binary water/alcohol mixtures of different mixture compositions. These studies revealed a strong non-monotonic composition dependence of the SER with maxima at the specific alcohol mole fraction where the non-idealities of the thermodynamic and transport properties are observed. The translational jump-diffusion (TJD) approach elucidated the breakdown of the SER in pure supercooled water as caused by the jump translation of molecules. The breakdown of SER in the supercooled water/methanol binary mixture was successfully explained using the same TJD approach. To further generalize the picture, here we focus on the non-monotonic composition dependence of SER breakdown of water in two water/alcohol mixtures (water/ethanol and water/propanol) for a broad temperature range. In agreement with previous studies, maximum breakdown of SER is observed for the mixture with alcohol mole fraction x = 0.2. Diffusion of the water molecules at the maximum SER breakdown point is largely contributed by jump-diffusion. The residual-diffusion, obtained by subtracting the jump-diffusion from the total diffusion, approximately follows the SER for different compositions and temperatures. We also performed hydrogen (H-)bond dynamics and observed that the contribution of jump-diffusion is proportional to the total free energy of activation of breaking all H-bonds that exist around a molecule. This study, therefore, suggests that the more a molecule is trapped by H-bonding, the more likely it is to diffuse through the jump-diffusion mechanism, eventually leading to an increasing degree of SER breakdown.

Correlation lengths in nanoconfined water and transport properties

We report the existence of disparate static and dynamic correlation lengths that could describe the influence of confinement on nanoconfined water (NCW). Various aspects of viscous properties, such as anisotropy and viscoelasticity, of NCW are studied by varying the separation distance "d" between two confining hydrophobic plates. The transverse component of the mean square stress exhibits slow spatial decay (measured from the surface) beyond ∼1.8 nm, which was not reported before. The static correlation length obtained from fitting the exponential decay of the transverse mean-square stress with d is 0.75 nm, while the decay time of the stress-stress time correlation function gives a dynamic correlation length of only 0.35 nm. The shortness of the dynamic correlation length seems to arise from the low sensitivity of orientational relaxation to confinement. In the frequency-dependent viscosity, we observe a new peak at about 50 cm^-1 that is not present in the bulk. This new peak is prominent even at 3 nm separations. The peak is absent in the bulk, although it is close to the intermolecular -O-O-O- bending mode well known in liquid water. We further explore the relationship between diffusion and viscosity in NCW by varying d.

Scaling and universality in Brownian motion on a stochastic harmonic oscillator chain

Diffusion of a Brownian particle along a stochastic harmonic oscillator chain is investigated. In contrast to the usually discussed Brownian motion driven by Gaussian white noise, the particle at high temperatures performs long Lévy flights. At high temperatures T the diffusion coefficient scales as D∼T^{2+α}, where the parameter α determine the average damping force ∝1/(T^{α}P) on the particle at large momentum P and at high temperature. The exponent α depends on the particle-chain interaction and chain properties. It is shown that the mean time t[over ¯]_{f} necessary to perform a flight of l lattice constant scales with l as t[over ¯]_{f}∝l^{2/3} at high temperatures and flight lengths. Last, the flight length probability distribution is found to decay as 1/l^{β} with the exponent β=4/3 being universal, i.e., independent of the model parameters.

Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water: the jump-diffusion perspective

Although water is the most ubiquitous liquid it shows many thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies. Some of the anomalies further intensify in the supercooled regime. While many experimental and theoretical studies have focused on the thermodynamic anomalies of supercooled water, fewer studies explored the dynamical anomalies very extensively. This is due to the intricacy of the experimental measurement of the dynamical properties of supercooled water. Violation of the Stokes-Einstein relation (SER), an important relation connecting the diffusion of particles with the viscosity of the medium, is one of the major dynamical anomalies. In absence of experimentally measured viscosity, researchers used to check the validity of SER indirectly using average translational relaxation time or α-relaxation time. Very recently, the viscosity of supercooled water was accurately measured at a wide range of temperatures and pressures. This allowed direct verification of the SER at different temperature-pressure thermodynamic state points. An increasing breakdown of the SER was observed with decreasing temperature. Increasing pressure reduces the extent of breakdown. Although some well-known theories explained the above breakdown, a detailed molecular mechanism was still elusive. Recently, a translational jump-diffusion (TJD) approach has been able to quantitatively explain the breakdown of the SER in pure supercooled water and an aqueous solution of methanol. The objective of this article is to present a detailed and state-of-the-art analysis of the past and present works on the breakdown of SER in supercooled water with a specific focus on the new TJD approach for explaining the breakdown of the SER.

Nanomechanical Molecular Mass Sensing Using Suspended Microchannel Resonators

In this work we study the different phenomena taking place when a hydrostatic pressure is applied in the inner fluid of a suspended microchannel resonator. Additionally to pressure-induced stiffness terms, we have theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated that the pressure also induces mass effects which depend on both the applied pressure and the fluid properties. We have used these phenomena to characterize the frequency response of the device as a function of the fluid compressibility and molecular masses of different fluids ranging from liquids to gases. The proposed device in this work can measure the mass density of an unknown liquid sample with a resolution of 0.7 µg/mL and perform gas mixtures characterization by measuring its average molecular mass with a resolution of 0.01 atomic mass units.

Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein Relation in Supercooled Water/Methanol Binary Mixtures: Explanation Using the Translational Jump-Diffusion Approach

A recent experiment has directly checked the validity of the Stokes-Einstein (SE) relation for pure water, pure methanol, and their binary mixtures of three different compositions at different temperatures. The effect of composition on the nature of breakdown of the SE relation is interesting. While in the majority of the systems, an increasing SE breakdown is observed with decreasing temperature, the breakdown is already significant at higher temperatures for the equimolar mixture. Violations of the SE relation in pure supercooled water at different temperatures and pressures have been previously explained using the translational jump-diffusion (TJD) approach, which provides a fundamental molecular basis, by directly connecting the SE breakdown with jump-diffusion of the molecules. We have used the same TJD approach for explaining the SE breakdown for the methanol/water binary mixtures of compositions studied in the experiment over a wide range of temperatures between 220 K and 300 K. We have understood that the jump-diffusion is the key responsible factor for the SE breakdown. The maximum jump-diffusion contribution gives rise to the early SE breakdown observed for the equimolar mixture observed in the experiment. This study, therefore, provides molecular insight into the SE breakdown for the supercooled water/methanol binary mixture, as found in the experiment.

Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein Equation for Solutions of Water in Oil Reverse Micelles

An experimental study is presented for the reverse micellar system of 15% by mass polydisperse hexaethylene glycol monodecylether (C₁₀E₆) in cyclohexane with varying amounts of added water up to 4% by mass. Measurements of viscosity and self-diffusion coefficients were taken as a function of temperature between 10 and 45 °C at varying sample water loads but fixed C₁₀E₆/cyclohexane composition. The results were used to inspect the validity of the Stokes-Einstein equation for this system. Unreasonably small reverse average micelle radii and aggregation numbers were obtained with the Stokes-Einstein equation, but reasonable values for these quantities were obtained using the ratio of surfactant-to-cyclohexane self-diffusion coefficients. While bulk viscosity increased with increasing water load, a concurrent expected decrease of self-diffusion coefficient was only observed for the surfactant and water but not for cyclohexane, which showed independence of water load. Moreover, a spread of self-diffusion coefficients was observed for the protons associated with the ethylene oxide repeat unit in samples with polydisperse C₁₀E₆ but not in a sample with monodisperse C₁₀E₆. These findings were interpreted by the presence of reverse micelle to reverse micelle hopping motions that with higher water load become increasingly selective toward C₁₀E₆ molecules with short ethylene oxide repeat units, while those with long ethylene oxide repeat units remain trapped within the reverse micelle because of the increased hydrogen bonding interactions with the water inside the growing core of the reverse micelle. Despite the observed breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein equation, the temperature dependence of the viscosities and self-diffusion coefficients was found to follow Arrhenius behavior over the investigated range of temperatures.