Condensed Matter Physics, 2015, vol. 18, No. 4, 43602
DOI:10.5488/CMP.18.43602           arXiv:1512.07794

Title: On the composition dependence of thermodynamic, dynamic and dielectric properties of water-methanol model mixtures. Molecular dynamics simulation results
Author(s):
  E. Galicia-Andrés (Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Auténoma de México, Circuito Exterior, 04510, México, D.F., México ) ,
  H. Dominguez (Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Auténoma de México, Circuito Exterior, 04510, México, D.F., México ) ,
  L. Pusztai (Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Konkoly Thege ut. 29-33, Budapest, H-1121, Hungary) ,
  O. Pizio (Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Auténoma de México, Circuito Exterior, 04510, México, D.F., México)

We have investigated thermodynamic and dynamic properties as well as the dielectric constant of water-methanol model mixtures in the entire range of composition by using constant pressure molecular dynamics simulations at ambient conditions. The SPC/E and TIP4P/Ew water models are used in combination with the OPLS united atom modelling for methanol. Changes of the average number of hydrogen bonds between particles of different species and of the fractions of differently bonded molecules are put in correspondence with the behavior of excess mixing volume and enthalpy, of self-diffusion coefficients and rotational relaxation times. From the detailed analyses of the results obtained in this work, we conclude that an improvement of the description of an ample set of properties of water-methanol mixtures can possibly be reached, if a more sophisticated, carefully parameterized, e.g., all atom, model for methanol is used. Moreover, exploration of parametrization of the methanol force field, with simultaneous application of different combination rules for methanol-water cross interactions, is required.

Key words: water models, methanol models, thermodynamic properties, translational and orientational diffusion, dielectric constant, molecular dynamics
PACS: 61.20.-p, 61.20-Gy, 61.20.Ja, 65.20.Jk


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