Ab initio investigation of the aqueous solvation of the nitrate ion

The turning point between surface and interior solvation of NO₃⁻ is predicted to lie around a cluster size of (H₂O)₆₄.

Solution structure of NaNO3 in water: diffraction and molecular dynamics simulation study

The structure of a series of aqueous sodium nitrate solutions (1.9-7.6 M) was studied using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. The results obtained from diffraction (X-ray, neutron) and molecular dynamics simulation have been compared and the capabilities and limitations of the methods in describing solution structure are discussed. For the solutions studied, diffraction methods were found to perform very well in description of hydration spheres of the sodium ion but do not yield detailed structural information on the anion's hydration structure. Molecular dynamics simulations proved to be a suitable tool in the detailed interpretation of the hydration sphere of ions, ion pair formation, and bulk structure of solutions.

Hydration of Molecular Anions with Oxygen Sites – a Monte Carlo Study

Equilibrium properties of molecular model water (in pure phase and in electrolyte solutions) are calculated with the help of spatial pair correlation functions, starting from classical molecular pair interactions. Simulations were performed for a new simple water model derived from combined quantum-mechanical and statistical calculations in a SCF/SSOZ scheme.

Ion hydration of molecular anions with oxygen sites such as nitrate and perchlorate ions is of special interest when compared with hydration structures of spherical atomic anions like the halide ions. The water structure around the different solutes, and their influence on solution properties, is discussed.

A Combined QM/MM Molecular Dynamics Simulations Study of Nitrate Anion (NO3-) in Aqueous Solution

The structural and dynamical properties of NO3- in dilute aqueous solution have been investigated by means of two combined quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) molecular dynamics simulations, namely HF/MM and B3LYP/MM, in which the ion and its surrounding water molecules were treated at HF and B3LYP levels of accuracy, respectively, using the DZV+ basis set. On the basis of both HF and B3LYP methods, a well-defined first hydration shell of NO3- is obtainable, but the shell is quite flexible and the hydrogen-bond interactions between NO3- and water are rather weak. With respect to the detailed analysis of the geometrical arrangement and vibrations of NO3-, the experimentally observed solvent-induced symmetry breaking of the ion is well reflected. In addition, the dynamical information, i.e., the bond distortions and shifts in the corresponding bending and stretching frequencies as well as the mean residence time of water molecules surrounding the NO3- ion, clearly indicates the "structure-breaking" ability of this ion in aqueous solution. From a methodical point of view it seems that both the HF and B3LYP methods are not too different in describing this hydrated ion by means of a QM/MM simulation. However, the detailed analysis of the dynamics properties indicates a better suitability of the HF method compared to the B3LYP-DFT approach.