Identifying time scales for violation/preservation of Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water

Understanding dynamics in coarse-grained models. IV. Connection of fine-grained and coarse-grained dynamics with the Stokes-Einstein and Stokes-Einstein-Debye relations

Applying an excess entropy scaling formalism to the coarse-grained (CG) dynamics of liquids, we discovered that missing rotational motions during the CG process are responsible for artificially accelerated CG dynamics. In the context of the dynamic representability between the fine-grained (FG) and CG dynamics, this work introduces the well-known Stokes-Einstein and Stokes-Einstein-Debye relations to unravel the rotational dynamics underlying FG trajectories, thereby allowing for an indirect evaluation of the effective rotations based only on the translational information at the reduced CG resolution. Since the representability issue in CG modeling limits a direct evaluation of the shear stress appearing in the Stokes-Einstein and Stokes-Einstein-Debye relations, we introduce a translational relaxation time as a proxy to employ these relations, and we demonstrate that these relations hold for the ambient conditions studied in our series of work. Additional theoretical links to our previous work are also established. First, we demonstrate that the effective hard sphere radius determined by the classical perturbation theory can approximate the complex hydrodynamic radius value reasonably well. Furthermore, we present a simple derivation of an excess entropy scaling relationship for viscosity by estimating the elliptical integral of molecules. In turn, since the translational and rotational motions at the FG level are correlated to each other, we conclude that the "entropy-free" CG diffusion only depends on the shape of the reference molecule. Our results and analyses impart an alternative way of recovering the FG diffusion from the CG description by coupling the translational and rotational motions at the hydrodynamic level.

Unraveling relationship between complex lifetimes and microscopic diffusion in deep eutectic solvents

Aqueous mixtures of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged as a subject of interest in recent years for their tailored physicochemical properties. However, a comprehensive understanding of water's multifaceted influence on the microscopic dynamics, including its impact on improved transport properties of the DES, remains elusive. Additionally, the diffusion mechanisms within DESs manifest heterogeneous behavior, intricately tied to the formation and dissociation kinetics of complexes and hydrogen bonds. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the intricate interplay between bond kinetics, diffusion mechanism, and dynamical heterogeneity. This work employs water as an agent to explore their relationships by studying various relaxation phenomena in a DES based on acetamide and lithium perchlorate over a wide range of water concentrations. Notably, acetamide exhibits Fickian yet non-Gaussian diffusion across all water concentrations with Fickian (τf) and Gaussian (τg) timescales following a power-law relationship, τg∝τfγ, γ ∼ 1.4. The strength of coupling between bond kinetics and different diffusion timescales is estimated through various power-law relationships. Notably, acetamide-water hydrogen bond lifetime is linked to diffusive timescales through a single power-law over the entire water concentration studied. However, the relationship between diffusive timescales and the lifetime of acetamide-lithium complexes shows a sharp transition in behavior at 20 wt. % water, reflecting a change from vehicular diffusion below this concentration to structural diffusion above it. Our findings emphasize the critical importance of understanding bond dynamics within DESs, as they closely correlate with and regulate the molecular diffusion processes within these systems.

Enhancing Icephobic Coatings: Exploring the Potential of Dopamine-Modified Epoxy Resin Inspired by Mussel Catechol Groups

A nature-inspired approach was employed through the development of dopamine-modified epoxy coating for anti-icing applications. The strong affinity of dopamine's catechol groups for hydrogen bonding with water molecules at the ice/coating interface was utilized to induce an aqueous quasi-liquid layer (QLL) on the surface of the icephobic coatings, thereby reducing their ice adhesion strength. Epoxy resin modification was studied by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The surface and mechanical properties of the prepared coatings were studied by different characterization techniques. Low-temperature ATR-FTIR was employed to study the presence of QLL on the coating's surface. Moreover, the freezing delay time and temperature of water droplets on the coatings were evaluated along with push-off and centrifuge ice adhesion strength to evaluate their icephobic properties. The surface of dopamine-modified epoxy coating presented enhanced hydrophilicity and QLL formation, addressed as the main reason for its remarkable icephobicity. The results demonstrated the potential of dopamine-modified epoxy resin as an effective binder for icephobic coatings, offering notable ice nucleation delay time (1316 s) and temperature (-19.7 °C), reduced ice adhesion strength (less than 40 kPa), and an ice adhesion reduction factor of 7.2 compared to the unmodified coating.

Entropic timescales of dynamic heterogeneity in supercooled liquid

Non-Gaussian displacement distributions are universal predictors of dynamic heterogeneity in slowly varying environments. Here, we explore heterogeneous dynamics in supercooled liquid using molecular dynamics simulations and show the efficiency of the relative-entropy based measure, negentropy, in quantifying dynamic heterogeneity over the widely used non-Gaussian parameter. Our analysis shows that the heterogeneity quantified by the negentropy is significantly different from the one obtained using the conventional moment-based definition that considers deviation from Gaussianity up to lower-order moments. We extract the timescales of dynamic heterogeneity using the two methods and show that the differential changes diverge as the system experiences strong intermittency near the glass transition. Further, we interpret the entropic timescales and discuss the general implications of our work.

The distinguishable-particle lattice model of glasses in three dimensions

The nature of glassy states in realistic finite dimensions is still under fierce debate. Lattice models can offer valuable insights and facilitate deeper theoretical understanding. Recently, a disordered-interacting lattice model with distinguishable particles in two dimensions (2D) has been shown to produce a wide range of dynamical properties of structural glasses, including the slow and heterogeneous characteristics of the glassy dynamics, various fragility behaviors of glasses, and so on. These findings support the usefulness of this model for modeling structural glasses. An important question is whether such properties still hold in the more realistic three dimensions. In this study, we aim to extend the distinguishable-particle lattice model (DPLM) to three dimensions (3D) and explore the corresponding glassy dynamics. Through extensive kinetic Monte Carlo simulations, we found that the 3D DPLM exhibits many typical glassy behaviors, such as plateaus in the mean square displacement of particles and the self-intermediate scattering function, dynamic heterogeneity, variability of glass fragilities, and so on, validating the effectiveness of the DPLM in a broader realistic setting. The observed glassy behaviors of the 3D DPLM appear similar to those of its 2D counterpart, in accordance with recent findings in molecular models of glasses. We further investigate the role of void-induced motions in dynamical relaxations and discuss their relation to dynamic facilitation. As lattice models tend to keep the minimal but important modeling elements, they are typically much more amenable to analysis. Therefore, we envisage that the DPLM will benefit future theoretical developments, such as the configuration tree theory, towards a more comprehensive understanding of structural glasses.

Anomalous lateral diffusion of lipids during the fluid/gel phase transition of a lipid membrane

A lipid membrane undergoes a phase transition from fluid to gel phase upon changing external thermodynamic conditions, such as decreasing temperature and increasing pressure. Extremophilic organisms face the challenge of preventing this deleterious phase transition. The main focus of their adaptive strategy is to facilitate effective temperature sensing through sensor proteins, relying on the drastic changes in packing density and membrane fluidity during the phase transition. Although the changes in packing density parameters due to the fluid/gel phase transition are studied in detail, the impact on membrane fluidity is less explored in the literature. Understanding the lateral diffusive dynamics of lipids in response to temperature, particularly during the fluid/gel phase transition, is albeit crucial. Here we have simulated the phase transition of a single component lipid membrane composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipids using a coarse-grained (CG) model and studied the changes of the structural and dynamical properties. It is observed that near the phase transition point, both fluid and gel phase domains coexist together. The dynamics remains highly non-Gaussian for a long time even when the mean square displacement reaches the Fickian regime at a much earlier time. This Fickian yet non-Gaussian diffusion (FnGD) is a characteristic of a highly heterogeneous system, previously observed for the lateral diffusion of lipids in raft mimetic membranes having liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered phases co-existing together. We have analyzed the molecular trajectories and calculated the jump-diffusion of the lipids, stemming from sudden jump translations, using a translational jump-diffusion (TJD) approach. An overwhelming contribution of the jump-diffusion of the lipids is observed suggesting anomalous diffusion of lipids during fluid/gel phase transition of the membrane. These results are important in unravelling the intricate nature of lipid diffusion during the phase transition of the membrane and open up a new possibility of investigating the most significant change of membrane properties during phase transition, which can be effectively sensed by proteins.

Different glassy characteristics are related to either caging or dynamical heterogeneity

Despite the enormous theoretical and application interests, a fundamental understanding of the glassy dynamics remains elusive. The static properties of glassy and ordinary liquids are similar, but their dynamics are dramatically different. What leads to this difference is the central puzzle of the field. Even the primary defining glassy characteristics, their implications, and if they are related to a single mechanism remain unclear. This lack of clarity is a severe hindrance to theoretical progress. Here, we combine analytical arguments and simulations of various systems in different dimensions and address these questions. Our results suggest that the myriad of glassy features are manifestations of two distinct mechanisms. Particle caging controls the mean, and coexisting slow- and fast-moving regions govern the distribution of particle displacements. All the other glassy characteristics are manifestations of these two mechanisms; thus, the Fickian yet non-Gaussian nature of glassy liquids is not surprising. We discover a crossover, from stretched exponential to a power law, in the behavior of the overlap function. This crossover is prominent in simulation data and forms the basis of our analyses. Our results have crucial implications on how the glassy dynamics data are analyzed, challenge some recent suggestions on the mechanisms governing glassy dynamics, and impose strict constraints that a correct theory of glasses must have.

Noncanonical Relationship between Heterogeneity and the Stokes-Einstein Breakdown in Deep Eutectic Solvents

The relationship between Stokes-Einstein breakdown (SEB) and dynamical heterogeneity (DH) is of paramount importance in the physical chemistry of complex fluids. In this work, we employ neutron scattering to probe the DH and SEB in a series of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of acetamide and lithium salts. Quasielastic neutron scattering experiments reveal SEB in the jump diffusion of acetamide, represented by a fractional Stokes-Einstein relationship. Among these DESs, lithium perchlorate exhibits the most pronounced SEB while lithium bromide displays the weakest. Concurrently, elastic incoherent neutron scans identify that bromide DES is the most heterogeneous and perchlorate is the least. For the first time, our study unveils a counterintuitive incommensurate relationship between DH and SEB. Further, it reveals the intricate contrasting nature of the SEB-DH relationship when investigated in proximity to the glass-transition temperature and further away from it.

Revealing the hidden dynamics of confined water in acrylate polymers: Insights from hydrogen-bond lifetime analysis

Polymers contain functional groups that participate in hydrogen bond (H-bond) with water molecules, establishing a robust H-bond network that influences bulk properties. This study utilized molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to examine the H-bonding dynamics of water molecules confined within three poly(meth)acrylates: poly(2-methoxyethyl acrylate) (PMEA), poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA), and poly(1-methoxymethyl acrylate) (PMC1A). Results showed that H-bonding dynamics significantly slowed as the water content decreased. Additionally, the diffusion of water molecules and its correlation with H-bond breakage were analyzed. Our findings suggest that when the H-bonds between water molecules and the methoxy oxygen of PMEA are disrupted, those water molecules persist in close proximity and do not diffuse on a picosecond time scale. In contrast, the water molecules H-bonded with the hydroxy oxygen of PHEMA and the methoxy oxygen of PMC1A diffuse concomitantly with the breakage of H-bonds. These results provide an in-depth understanding of the impact of polymer functional groups on H-bonding dynamics.

Relaxation time scales of interfacial water upon fluid to ripple to gel phase transitions of bilayers

The slow relaxation of interface water (IW) across three primary phases of membranes is relevant to understand the influence of IW on membrane functions at supercooled conditions. To this objective, a total of ∼16.26μs all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine lipid membranes are carried out. A supercooling-driven drastic slow-down in heterogeneity time scales of the IW is found at the fluid to the ripple to the gel phase transitions of the membranes. At both fluid-to-ripple-to-gel phase transitions, the IW undergoes two dynamic crossovers in Arrhenius behavior with the highest activation energy at the gel phase due to the highest number of hydrogen bonds. Interestingly, the Stokes-Einstein (SE) relation is conserved for the IW near all three phases of the membranes for the time scales derived from the diffusion exponents and the non-Gaussian parameters. However, the SE relation breaks for the time scale obtained from the self-intermediate scattering functions. The behavioral difference in different time scales is universal and found to be an intrinsic property of glass. The first dynamical transition in the α relaxation time of the IW is associated with an increase in the Gibbs energy of activation of hydrogen bond breaking with locally distorted tetrahedral structures, unlike the bulk water. Thus, our analyses unveil the nature of the relaxation time scales of the IW across membrane phase transitions in comparison with the bulk water. The results will be useful to understand the activities and survival of complex biomembranes under supercooled conditions in the future.

Effect of crowding, compartmentalization and nanodomains on protein modification and redox signaling - current state and future challenges

Biological milieus are highly crowded and heterogeneous systems where organization of macromolecules within nanodomains (e.g. membraneless compartments) is vital to the regulation of metabolic processes. There is an increasing interest in understanding the effects that such packed environments have on different biochemical and biological processes. In this context, the redox biochemistry and redox signaling fields are moving towards investigating oxidative processes under conditions that exhibit these key features of biological systems in order to solve existing paradigms including those related to the generation and transmission of specific redox signals within and between cells in both normal physiology and under conditions of oxidative stress. This review outlines the effects that crowding, nanodomain formation and altered local viscosities can have on biochemical processes involving proteins, and then discusses some of the reactions and pathways involving proteins and oxidants that may, or are known to, be modulated by these factors. We postulate that knowledge of protein modification processes (e.g. kinetics, pathways and product formation) under conditions that mimic biological milieus, will provide a better understanding of the response of cells to endogenous and exogenous stressors, and their role in ageing, signaling, health and disease.

Self-diffusion and shear viscosity for the TIP4P/Ice water model

With an ever-increasing interest in water properties, many intermolecular force fields have been proposed to describe the behavior of water. Unfortunately, good models for liquid water usually cannot provide simultaneously an accurate melting point for ice. For this reason, the TIP4P/Ice model was developed for targeting the melting point and has become the preferred choice for simulating ice at coexistence. Unfortunately, available data for its dynamic properties in the liquid state are scarce. Therefore, we demonstrate a series of simulations aimed at the calculation of transport coefficients for the TIP4P/Ice model over a large range of thermodynamic conditions, ranging from T = 245 K to T = 350 K, for the temperature, and from p = 0 to p = 500 MPa, for the pressure. We have found that the self-diffusion (shear viscosity) exhibits smaller (increased) values than TIP4P/2005 and experiments. However, rescaling the temperature with respect to the triple point temperature, as in a corresponding states plot, we find that TIP4P/Ice compares very well with TIP4P/2005 and experiment. Such observations allow us to infer that despite the different original purposes of these two models examined here, one can benefit from a vast number of reports regarding the behavior of transport coefficients for the TIP4P/2005 model and utilize them following the routine described in this paper.

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.

Connection between water's dynamical and structural properties: Insights from ab initio simulations

SignificanceFirst-principles calculations, which explicitly account for the electronic structure of matter, can shed light on the molecular structure and dynamics of water in its supercooled state. In this work, we use density functional theory, which relies on a functional to describe electronic exchange and correlations, to evaluate which functional best describes the temperature evolution of bulk water transport coefficients. We also assess the validity of the Stokes-Einstein relation for all the functionals in the temperature range studied, and explore the link between structure and dynamics. Based on these results, we show how transport coefficients can be computed from structural descriptors, which require shorter simulation times to converge, and we point toward strategies to develop better functionals.

Construction of a quantitative relation between structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity by vibrational dynamics in glass-forming liquids and polymers

The structural relaxation slows down drastically upon approaching the glass transition, accompanied by the significant growth of dynamic heterogeneity. The fundamental question of elusiveness and interest is whether there exists an underlying quantitative relationship between structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity. Here, we reveal that b̃ which is related to the reduced mean square displacements to overcome the energy barriers of activated jumps, instead of the kinetic fragility m, is the genuine key parameter connecting dynamic heterogeneity with structural relaxation for varying types of glass formers. Furthermore, based on the dependence of dynamic heterogeneity on the Debye-Waller factor we obtained a direct quantitative relation between dynamic heterogeneity and structural relaxation is built for different glass-forming liquids. More importantly, a scaling collapse of structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity is achieved by the important parameter b̃. These results are of fundamental and critical importance for developing a unified theory of glassy dynamics.

Exploring the validity of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water using nanomolecular probes

The breakdown of Stokes-Einstein relation in liquid water is one of the many anomalies that take place upon cooling and indicates the decoupling of diffusion and viscosity. It is hypothesized that these anomalies manifest due to the appearance of nanometer-scale spatial fluctuations, which become increasingly pronounced in the supercooled regime. Here, we explore the validity of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water using nanomolecular probes. We capture the diffusive dynamics of the probes using dynamic light scattering and target dynamics at different length scales by varying the probe size, from ≈100 nm silica spheres to molecular-sized polyhydroxylated fullerenes (≈1 nm). We find that all the studied probes, independent of size, display similar diffusive dynamics with an Arrhenius activation energy of ≈23 kJ mol^-1. Analysis of the diffusion coefficient further indicates that the probes, independent of their size, experience similar dynamic environment, which coincides with the macroscopic viscosity, while single water molecules effectively experience a comparatively lower viscosity. Finally, we conclude that our results indicate that the Stokes-Einstein relation is preserved for diffusion of probes in supercooled water T ≥ 260 K with size as small as ≈1 nm.

Conservation of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled water

The Stokes-Einstein (SE) relation is commonly regarded as being breakdown in supercooled water. However, this conclusion is drawn by testing the validity of some variants of the SE relation rather than its original form, and it appears conflicting with the fact that supercooled water is in its local equilibrium. In this work, we show by molecular dynamics simulations that the Stokes-Einstein relation is indeed conserved in supercooled water. The inconsistency between the original SE relation and its variants comes from two facts: (1) the substitutes of the shear viscosity in the SE variants are only approximate relations; and (2) the effective hydrodynamic radius actually decreases with decreasing temperature, instead of being a constant as assumed in the SE variants.

From Critical Point to Critical Point: The Two-States Model Describes Liquid Water Self-Diffusion from 623 to 126 K

Liquid’s behaviour, when close to critical points, is of extreme importance both for fundamental research and industrial applications. A detailed knowledge of the structural–dynamical correlations in their proximity is still today a target to reach. Liquid water anomalies are ascribed to the presence of a second liquid–liquid critical point, which seems to be located in the very deep supercooled regime, even below 200 K and at pressure around 2 kbar. In this work, the thermal behaviour of the self-diffusion coefficient for liquid water is analyzed, in terms of a two-states model, for the first time in a very wide thermal region (126 K < T < 623 K), including those of the two critical points. Further, the corresponding configurational entropy and isobaric-specific heat have been evaluated within the same interval. The two liquid states correspond to high and low-density water local structures that play a primary role on water dynamical behavior over 500 K.

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.

Breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled liquids: A cage-jump perspective

The breakdown of the Stokes-Einstein relation in supercooled liquids, which is the increase in the ratio τ_ατ_D between the two macroscopic times for structural relaxation and diffusion on decreasing the temperature, is commonly ascribed to dynamic heterogeneities, but a clear-cut microscopic interpretation is still lacking. Here, we tackle this issue exploiting the single-particle cage-jump framework to analyze molecular dynamics simulations of soft disk assemblies and supercooled water. We find that τ_ατ_D∝⟨t_p⟩⟨t_c⟩, where ⟨t_p⟩ and ⟨t_c⟩ are the cage-jump times characterizing slow and fast particles, respectively. We further clarify that this scaling does not arise from a simple term-by-term proportionality; rather, the relations τ_α∝⟨t_p⟩⟨Δr_J ²⟩ and τ_D∝⟨t_c⟩⟨Δr_J ²⟩ effectively connect the macroscopic and microscopic timescales, with the mean square jump length ⟨Δr_J ²⟩ shrinking on cooling. Our work provides a microscopic perspective on the Stokes-Einstein breakdown and generalizes previous results on lattice models to the case of more realistic glass-formers.

Transition pathway of hydrogen bond switching in supercooled water analyzed by the Markov state model

In this work, we examine hydrogen-bond (H-bond) switching by employing the Markov State Model (MSM). During the H-bond switching, a water hydrogen initially H-bonded with water oxygen becomes H-bonded to a different water oxygen. MSM analysis was applied to trajectories generated from molecular dynamics simulations of the TIP4P/2005 model from a room-temperature state to a supercooled state. We defined four basis states to characterize the configuration between two water molecules: H-bonded ("H"), unbound ("U"), weakly H-bonded ("w"), and alternative H-bonded ("a") states. A 16 × 16 MSM matrix was constructed, describing the transition probability between states composed of three water molecules. The mean first-passage time of the H-bond switching was estimated by calculating the total flux from the HU to UH states. It is demonstrated that the temperature dependence of the mean first-passage time is in accordance with that of the H-bond lifetime determined from the H-bond correlation function. Furthermore, the flux for the H-bond switching is decomposed into individual pathways that are characterized by different forms of H-bond configurations of trimers. The dominant pathway of the H-bond switching is found to be a direct one without passing through such intermediate states as "w" and "a," the existence of which becomes evident in supercooled water. The pathway through "w" indicates a large reorientation of the donor molecule. In contrast, the pathway through "a" utilizes the tetrahedral H-bond network, which is revealed by the further decomposition based on the H-bond number of the acceptor molecule.

Universal Nucleation Behavior of Sheared Systems

Using molecular simulations and a modified classical nucleation theory, we study the nucleation, under flow, of a variety of liquids: different water models, Lennard-Jones, and hard sphere colloids. Our approach enables us to analyze a wide range of shear rates inaccessible to brute-force simulations. Our results reveal that the variation of the nucleation rate with shear is universal. A simplified version of the theory successfully captures the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the nucleation behavior, which is shown to originate from the violation of the Stokes-Einstein relation.

Examining the Role of Different Molecular Interactions on Activation Energies and Activation Volumes in Liquid Water

There are a large number of force fields available to model water in molecular dynamics simulations, which each have their own strengths and weaknesses in describing the behavior of the liquid. One particular weakness in many of these models is their description of dynamics away from ambient conditions, where their ability to reproduce measurements is mixed. To investigate this issue, we use the recently developed fluctuation theory for dynamics to directly evaluate measures of the local temperature and pressure dependence: the activation energy and the activation volume. We examine these activation parameters for hydrogen-bond jump exchange times, OH reorientation times, and diffusion coefficients calculated from the SPC/E, SPC/Fw, TIP3P-PME, TIP3P-PME/Fw, OPC3, TIP4P/2005, TIP4P/Ew, E3B2, and E3B3 water models. Activation energy decompositions available through the fluctuation theory approach provide mechanistic insight into the origins of different temperature dependences between the various models, as well as the influence of three-body effects and flexibility.

Understanding charged vesicle suspensions as Wigner glasses: dynamical aspects

Suspensions of charged vesicles in water with added salt are widespread in nature and industrial production. Here we investigate, via Brownian dynamics simulations, a model that grasps the key features of these systems, with bidisperse colloidal beads interacting via a hard-core and an electrostatic double layer potential. Our goal is to focus on a set of interaction parameters that is not generic but measured in recent experiments, and relevant for a class of consumer products, such as liquid fabric softeners. On increasing the volume fraction in a range relevant to real formulation, we show that the dynamics become progressively slower and heterogeneous, displaying the typical signatures of an approaching glass transition. On lowering the salt concentration, which corresponds to increasing the strength and range of the electrostatic repulsion, the emergence of glassy dynamics becomes significantly steeper, and, remarkably, occurs at volume fractions well below the hard-sphere glass transition. The volume fraction dependence of the structural relaxation time at different salt concentration is well described through a functional law inspired by a recently proposed model (Krausser et al 2015 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 112 13762). According to our results, the investigated system may be thought of as a Wigner glass, i.e. a low-density glassy state stabilized by long-range repulsive interactions. Overall, our study suggests that glassy dynamics plays an important role in controlling the stability of these suspensions.

Towards molecular movies with X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy

In this perspective article we highlight research opportunities and challenges in probing structural dynamics of molecular systems using X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS). The development of new X-ray sources, such as 4th generation storage rings and X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), provides promising new insights into molecular motion. Employing XPCS at these sources allows to capture a very broad range of timescales and lengthscales, spanning from femtoseconds to minutes and atomic scales to the mesoscale. Here, we discuss the scientific questions that can be addressed with these novel tools for two prominent examples: the dynamics of proteins in biomolecular condensates and the dynamics of supercooled water. Finally, we provide practical tips for designing and estimating feasibility of XPCS experiments as well as on detecting and mitigating radiation damage.

Dynamic heterogeneity and viscosity decoupling: origin and analytical prediction

The molecular-level structure and dynamics decide the functionality of solvent media. Therefore, a significant amount of effort is being dedicated continually over time in understanding their structural and dynamical features. One intriguing aspect of solvent structure and dynamics is heterogeneity. In these systems, the dynamics follow , where p is the measure of viscosity decoupling. We analytically predicted that in such cases, the Stokes-Einstein relationship is modified to due to microdomain formation, and the second term on the right-hand side leads to viscosity decoupling. We validated our prediction by estimating the p values of a few solvents, and they matched well with the literature. Overall, we believe that our approach gives a simple yet unique physical picture to help us understand the heterogeneity of solvent media.

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.

Violation of Stokes-Einstein and Stokes-Einstein-Debye relations in polymers at the gas-supercooled liquid coexistence

Molecular dynamics simulations are performed on a system of model linear polymers to look at the violations of Stokes-Einstein (SE) and Stokes-Einstein-Debye (SED) relations near the mode coupling theory transition temperatureT_cat three (one higher and two lower) densities. At low temperatures, both lower density systems show stable gas-supercooled-liquid coexistence whereas the higher density system is homogeneous. We show that monomer density relaxation exhibits SE violation for all three densities, whereas molecular density relaxation shows a weak violation of the SE relation nearT_cin both lower density systems. This study identifies disparity in monomer mobility and observation of jumplike motion in the typical monomer trajectories resulting in the SE violations. In addition to the SE violation, a weak SED violation is observed in the gas-supercooled-liquid coexisting domains of the lower densities. Both lower density systems also show a decoupling of translational and rotational dynamics in this polymer system.

Fast increase of nanofluidic slip in supercooled water: the key role of dynamics

Nanofluidics is an emerging field offering innovative solutions for energy harvesting and desalination. The efficiency of these applications depends strongly on liquid-solid slip, arising from a favorable ratio between viscosity and interfacial friction. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that wall slip increases strongly when water is cooled below its melting point. For water on graphene, the slip length is multiplied by up to a factor of five and reaches 230 nm at the lowest simulated temperature, T ∼ 225 K; experiments in nanopores can reach much lower temperatures and could reveal even more drastic changes. The predicted fast increase in water slip can also be detected at supercoolings reached experimentally in bulk water, as well as in droplets flowing on anti-icing surfaces. We explain the anomalous slip behavior in the supercooled regime by a decoupling between viscosity and bulk density relaxation dynamics, and we rationalize the wall-type dependence of the enhancement in terms of interfacial density relaxation dynamics. While providing fundamental insights on the molecular mechanisms of hydrodynamic transport in both interfacial and bulk water in the supercooled regime, this study is relevant to the design of anti-icing surfaces, could help explain the subtle phase and dynamical behaviors of supercooled confined water, and paves the way to explore new behaviors in supercooled nanofluidic systems.

Hierarchical glass transition of hard hemidisks with local assemblies

Using computer simulation, we investigate the glass transition of a two-dimensional hard-hemidisk system. Upon increasing the packing fraction of the system, we find that the system vitrifies into a glass with local assembled discal "dimers", which are free to rotate in a collective way. The rotational mean square displacement does not exhibit the typical plateau (slowdown) like what occurs in the translational mean square displacement. This effect induces a pronounced violation of the rotational Stokes-Einstein relationship compared with the translational degree of freedom at the supercooled region. However, the obtained glass transition points in these two freedom degrees are found to be the same within the numerical accuracy, which is due to the strong positive spatial and dynamic correlation between translational and rotational slow-moving particles. Moreover, we find that the locally assembled dimers can serve as fast rotating gears facilitating the orientational relaxation in the system, and this suggests that the locally favored finite structures play an important role in the hierarchical glass transition of anisotropic colloids.

Nonempirical Free Volume Viscosity Model for Alkane Lubricants under Severe Pressures

Viscosities η and diffusion coefficients D_{s} of linear and branched alkanes at pressure 0<P<0.7  GPa and temperature T=500-600  K are calculated from molecular dynamics simulations. Combining Stokes-Einstein, free volume, and random walk concepts results in an accurate viscosity model for the considered P and T. All model parameters (hydrodynamic radius, random walk step size, and step frequency) are extracted from equilibrium molecular dynamics via microscopic ensemble averages rendering η(P,T) a parameter-free predictor for lubrication simulations.

An alternative approach to evidence the structural conditioning in the dynamic slowdown in a polymer glass-former

Dynamic slowdown of liquids, leading to a breakdown of Arrhenius behavior of relaxation and Stokes-Einstein relationship (SER), as the glass transition is approached, is still not fully understood despite decades of study. They are usually associated to the emergence of dynamic heterogeneity, that is, regions or clusters of particles that have high or low mobilities. But the physical origin of these dynamic heterogeneity, and in particular, the question whether they have a structural origin or they are a purely dynamical phenomenon, is still under debate. In this work we study through molecular dynamics simulations in a polymer model the dynamic slowdown and the breakdown of SER, in connection with dynamic susceptibility calculated for an isoconfigurational ensemble, such that the effects of structure on dynamics can be discriminated. The onset of structure effects on dynamical behavior is found to be coincident with the onset of slow dynamics and SER breakdown.

Dynamic coupling of a hydration layer to a fluid phospholipid membrane: intermittency and multiple time-scale relaxations

Understanding the coupling of a hydration layer and a lipid membrane is crucial to gaining access to membrane dynamics and understanding its functionality towards various biological processes.

Local Density Fluctuation Governs the Divergence of Viscosity Underlying Elastic and Hydrodynamic Anomalies in a 2D Glass-Forming Liquid

If a liquid is cooled rapidly to form a glass, its structural relaxation becomes retarded, producing a drastic increase in viscosity. In two dimensions, strong long-wavelength fluctuations persist, even at low temperature, making it difficult to evaluate the microscopic structural relaxation time. This Letter shows that, in a 2D glass-forming liquid, relative displacement between neighbor particles yields a relaxation time that grows in proportion to the viscosity. In addition to thermal elastic vibrations, hydrodynamic fluctuations are found to affect the long-wavelength dynamics, yielding a logarithmically diverging diffusivity in the long-time limit.

Quantification of spatio-temporal scales of dynamical heterogeneity of water near lipid membranes above supercooling

A hydrated 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (DMPC) lipid membrane is investigated using an all atom molecular dynamics simulation at 308 K to determine the physical sources of universal slow relaxations of hydration layers and length-scale of the spatially heterogeneous dynamics. Continuously residing interface water (IW) molecules hydrogen bonded to different moieties of lipid heads in the membrane are identified. The non-Gaussian parameters of all classes of IW molecules show a cross-over from cage vibration to translational diffusion. A significant non-Gaussianity is observed for the IW molecules exhibiting large length correlations in translational van Hove functions. Two time-scales for the ballistic motions and hopping transitions are obtained from the self intermediate scattering functions of the IW molecules with an additional long relaxation, which disappears for bulk water. The long relaxation time-scales for the IW molecules obtained from the self intermediate scattering functions are in good accordance with the hydrogen bond relaxation time-scales irrespective of the nature of the chemical confinement and the confinement lifetime. Employing a block analysis approach, the length-scale of dynamical heterogeneities is captured from a transition from non-Gaussianity to Gaussianity in van Hove correlation functions of the IW molecules. The heterogeneity length-scale is comparable to the wave-length of the small and weak undulations of the membrane calculated by Fourier transforms of lipid tilts. This opens up a new avenue towards a possible correlation between heterogeneity length-scale and membrane curvature more significant for rippled membranes. Thus, our analyses provide a measure towards the spatio-temporal scale of dynamical heterogeneity of confined water near membranes.

Long-wavelength fluctuations and anomalous dynamics in 2-dimensional liquids

In 2-dimensional systems at finite temperature, long-wavelength Mermin-Wagner fluctuations prevent the existence of translational long-range order. Their dynamical signature, which is the divergence of the vibrational amplitude with the system size, also affects disordered solids, and it washes out the transient solid-like response generally exhibited by liquids cooled below their melting temperatures. Through a combined numerical and experimental investigation, here we show that long-wavelength fluctuations are also relevant at high temperature, where the liquid dynamics do not reveal a transient solid-like response. In this regime, these fluctuations induce an unusual but ubiquitous decoupling between long-time diffusion coefficient D and structural relaxation time τ, where [Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text] Long-wavelength fluctuations have a negligible influence on the relaxation dynamics only at extremely high temperatures in molecular liquids or at extremely low densities in colloidal systems.

Transport dynamics of complex fluids

Thermal motion in complex fluids is a complicated stochastic process but ubiquitously exhibits initial ballistic, intermediate subdiffusive, and long-time diffusive motion, unless interrupted. Despite its relevance to numerous dynamical processes of interest in modern science, a unified, quantitative understanding of thermal motion in complex fluids remains a challenging problem. Here, we present a transport equation and its solutions, which yield a unified quantitative explanation of the mean-square displacement (MSD), the non-Gaussian parameter (NGP), and the displacement distribution of complex fluids. In our approach, the environment-coupled diffusion kernel and its time correlation function (TCF) are the essential quantities that determine transport dynamics and characterize mobility fluctuation of complex fluids; their time profiles are directly extractable from a model-free analysis of the MSD and NGP or, with greater computational expense, from the two-point and four-point velocity autocorrelation functions. We construct a general, explicit model of the diffusion kernel, comprising one unbound-mode and multiple bound-mode components, which provides an excellent approximate description of transport dynamics of various complex fluidic systems such as supercooled water, colloidal beads diffusing on lipid tubes, and dense hard disk fluid. We also introduce the concepts of intrinsic disorder and extrinsic disorder that have distinct effects on transport dynamics and different dependencies on temperature and density. This work presents an unexplored direction for quantitative understanding of transport and transport-coupled processes in complex disordered media.

Translational and rotational dynamics of high and low density TIP4P/2005 water

We use molecular dynamics simulations using TIP4P/2005 to investigate the self- and distinct-van Hove functions for different local environments of water, classified using the local structure index as an order parameter. The orientational dynamics were studied through the calculation of the time-correlation functions of different-order Legendre polynomials in the OH-bond unit vector. We found that the translational and orientational dynamics are slower for molecules in a low-density local environment and correspondingly the mobility is enhanced upon increasing the local density, consistent with some previous works, but opposite to a recent study on the van Hove function. From the analysis of the distinct dynamics, we find that the second and fourth peaks of the radial distribution function, previously identified as low density-like arrangements, show long persistence in time. The analysis of the time-dependent interparticle distance between the central molecule and the first coordination shell shows that particle identity persists longer than distinct van Hove correlations. The motion of two first-nearest-neighbor molecules thus remains coupled even when this correlation function has been completely decayed. With respect to the orientational dynamics, we show that correlation functions of molecules in a low-density environment decay exponentially, while molecules in a local high-density environment exhibit bi-exponential decay, indicating that dynamic heterogeneity of water is associated with the heterogeneity among high-density and between high-density and low-density species. This bi-exponential behavior is associated with the existence of interstitial waters and the collapse of the second coordination sphere in high-density arrangements, but not with H-bond strength.

Spurious violation of the Stokes-Einstein-Debye relation in supercooled water

The theories of Brownian motion, the Debye rotational diffusion model, and hydrodynamics together provide us with the Stokes–Einstein–Debye (SED) relation between the rotational relaxation time of the \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\boldsymbol{\ell }}$$\end{document}ℓ-th degree Legendre polynomials \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\boldsymbol{\tau }}}_{{\boldsymbol{\ell }}}$$\end{document}τℓ, and viscosity divided by temperature, η/T. Experiments on supercooled liquids are frequently performed to measure the SED relations, \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\boldsymbol{\tau }}}_{{\boldsymbol{\ell }}}$$\end{document}τℓk_BT/η and D_t\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\boldsymbol{\tau }}}_{{\boldsymbol{\ell }}}$$\end{document}τℓ, where D_t is the translational diffusion constant. However, the SED relations break down, and its molecular origin remains elusive. Here, we assess the validity of the SED relations in TIP4P/2005 supercooled water using molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, we demonstrate that the higher-order \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\boldsymbol{\tau }}}_{{\boldsymbol{\ell }}}$$\end{document}τℓ values exhibit a temperature dependence similar to that of η/T, whereas the lowest-order \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\boldsymbol{\tau }}}_{{\boldsymbol{\ell }}}$$\end{document}τℓ values are decoupled with η/T, but are coupled with the translational diffusion constant D_t. We reveal that the SED relations are so spurious that they significantly depend on the degree of Legendre polynomials.