The Mechanism of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation by Fatty Alcohol Monolayers.

Organic ice nucleating substances (INSs) are thought to play an essential role in cloud formation and, hence, precipitation and climate. Organic INSs are an important but poorly understood class of INSs in the atmosphere. To study organic INSs with exposed hydroxylated surfaces, researchers have previously used fatty alcohol monolayers as model systems.

Using machine learning with atomistic surface and local water features to predict heterogeneous ice nucleation.

Heterogeneous ice nucleation (HIN) has applications in climate science, nanotechnology, and cryopreservation. Ice nucleation on the earth's surface or in the atmosphere usually occurs heterogeneously involving foreign substrates, known as ice nucleating particles (INPs). Experiments identify good INPs but lack sufficient microscopic resolution to answer the basic question: What makes a good INP? We employ molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in combination with machine learning (ML) to address this question.

Binary salt structure classification with convolutional neural networks: Application to crystal nucleation and melting point calculations.

Convolutional neural networks are constructed and validated for the crystal structure classification of simple binary salts such as the alkali halides. The inputs of the neural network classifiers are the local bond orientational order parameters of Steinhardt, Nelson, and Ronchetti [Phys. Rev.

Influence of pH on Ice Nucleation by Kaolinite: Experiments and Molecular Simulations.

In mixed-phase or ice clouds, ice can be formed through heterogeneous nucleation. A major type of ice-nucleating particle (INP) in the atmosphere are mineral dust particles. For mixed-phase clouds, the pH of water droplets can vary widely and influence ice nucleation by altering the surface of some INPs, including mineral dust.

Analysis of the relative stability of lithium halide crystal structures: Density functional theory and classical models.

All lithium halides exist in the rock salt crystal structure under ambient conditions. In contrast, common lithium halide classical force fields more often predict wurtzite as the stable structure. This failure of classical models severely limits their range of application in molecular simulations of crystal nucleation and growth.

Effects of Inorganic Ions on Ice Nucleation by the Al Surface of Kaolinite Immersed in Water.

Molecular dynamics simulations are employed to investigate the influence of inorganic salts on ice nucleation by the Al surface of kaolinite, terminated with hydroxyl groups. Seven salt solutions (LiI(Cl), NaI(Cl), KI(Cl), and NHI) are considered. Simulations were performed at 300 K to obtain equilibrium surface-ion and surface-water density profiles.

Unified Description of Diffusion Coefficients from Small to Large Molecules in Organic-Water Mixtures.

Diffusion coefficients in mixtures of organic molecules and water are needed for many applications, ranging from the environmental modeling of pollutant transport, air quality, and climate, to improving the stability of foods, biomolecules, and pharmaceutical agents for longer use and storage. The Stokes-Einstein relation has been successful for predicting diffusion coefficients of large molecules in organic-water mixtures from viscosity, yet it routinely underpredicts, by orders of magnitude, the diffusion coefficients of small molecules in organic-water mixtures. Herein, a unified description of diffusion coefficients of large and small molecules in organic-water mixtures, based on the fractional Stokes-Einstein relation, is presented.

Simulations of water structure and the possibility of ice nucleation on selected crystal planes of K-feldspar.

Molecular dynamics simulations are employed to investigate the structure of supercooled water (230 K) in contact with the (001), (010), and (100) surfaces of potassium feldspar (K-feldspar) in the microcline phase. Experimentally, K-feldspar and other feldspar minerals are known to be good ice-nucleating agents, which play a significant role in atmospheric science. Therefore, a principal purpose of this work is to evaluate the possibility that the K-feldspar surfaces considered could serve as likely sites for ice nucleation.

Structural behavior of aqueous t-butanol solutions from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations.

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations are reported for aqueous t-butanol (TBA) solutions. The CHARMM generalized force field (CGenFF) for TBA is combined with the TIP4P/2005 model for water. Unlike many other common TBA models, the CGenFF model is miscible with water in all proportions at 300 K.

The influence of ion hydration on nucleation and growth of LiF crystals in aqueous solution.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to investigate crystal nucleation and growth in oversaturated aqueous LiF solutions. Results obtained for a range of temperatures provide evidence that the rate of crystal growth is determined by a substantial energy barrier (∼49 kJ mol) related to the loss of water from the ion hydration shells. Employing direct MD simulations, we do not observe spontaneous nucleation of LiF crystals at 300 K, but nucleation is easily observable in NVT simulations at 500 K.

Mechanism of Urea Crystal Dissolution in Water from Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to determine the mechanism of urea crystal dissolution in water under sink conditions. Crystals of cubic and tablet shapes are considered, and results are reported for four commonly used water models. The dissolution rates for different water models can differ considerably, but the overall dissolution mechanism remains the same.

Comparison of simulation and experimental results for a model aqueous tert-butanol solution.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the behavior of aqueous tert-butanol (TBA) solutions for a range of temperatures, using the CHARMM generalized force field (CGenFF) to model TBA and the TIP4P/2005 or TIP4P-Ew water model. Simulation results for the density, isothermal compressibility, constant pressure heat capacity, and self-diffusion coefficients are in good accord with experimental measurements. Agreement with the experiment is particularly good at low TBA concentration, where experiments have revealed anomalies in a number of thermodynamic properties.

Crystal structures of model lithium halides in bulk phase and in clusters.

We employ lattice energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to compare the stability of wurtzite and rock salt crystal structures of four lithium halides (LiF, LiCl, LiBr, and LiI) modeled using the Tosi-Fumi and Joung-Cheatham potentials, which are models frequently used in simulation studies. Both infinite crystals and finite clusters are considered. For the Tosi-Fumi model, we find that all four salts prefer the wurtzite structure both at 0 K and at finite temperatures, in disagreement with experiments, where rock salt is the stable structure and wurtzite exists as a metastable state.

A molecular dynamics investigation of the influence of water structure on ion conduction through a carbon nanotube.

Molecular dynamics simulations are employed to investigate pressure-driven water and ion transport through a (9,9) carbon nanotube (CNT). We consider NaCl solutions modeled with both the TIP3P and TIP4P/2005 water models. Concentrations range from 0.

Birth of NaCl Crystals: Insights from Molecular Simulations.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the factors that influence the nucleation of NaCl crystals in a supersaturated aqueous solution. We describe a methodology for detecting solidlike NaCl clusters (potential nuclei) and following their evolution in time until they achieve nucleation (which is very rare) or dissolve back into solution. Through an analysis of cluster lifetimes and multiple nucleation events, we demonstrate that cluster size is not the only property that influences cluster stability and the probability of achieving nucleation.

Simulated conduction rates of water through a (6,6) carbon nanotube strongly depend on bulk properties of the model employed.

We investigate pressure driven flow rates of water through a (6,6) carbon nanotube (CNT) for the TIP3P, SPC/E, and TIP4P/2005 water models. The flow rates are shown to be strongly model dependent, differing by factors that range from ∼6 to ∼2 as the temperature varies from 260 to 320 K, with TIP3P showing the fastest flow and TIP4P/2005 the slowest. For the (6,6) CNT, the size constraint allows only single-file conduction for all three water models.

Simulations of Ice Nucleation by Model AgI Disks and Plates.

Silver iodide is one of the most effective ice nuclei known. We use molecular dynamics simulations to investigate ice nucleation by AgI disks and plates with radii ranging from 1.15 to 2.

Simulations of Ice Nucleation by Kaolinite (001) with Rigid and Flexible Surfaces.

Nucleation of ice by airborne particles is a process vital to weather and climate, yet our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this process is limited. Kaolinite is a clay that is a significant component of airborne particles and is an effective ice nucleus. Despite receiving considerable attention, the microscopic mechanism(s) by which kaolinite nucleates ice is not known.

Fluctuations and local ice structure in model supercooled water.

Large-scale simulations (up to 32,000 molecules) are used to analyze local structures and fluctuations for the TIP4P/2005 and TIP5P water models, under deeply supercooled conditions, near previously proposed liquid-liquid critical points. Bulk freezing does not occur in our simulations, but correlations between molecules with local ice-like structure (ice-like molecules) are strong and long ranged (∼4 nm), exceeding the shortest dimension of smaller simulation cells at the lowest temperatures considered. Correlations between ice-like molecules decay slowly at low temperature, on the order of a hundred nanoseconds.

Melting point trends and solid phase behaviors of model salts with ion size asymmetry and distributed cation charge.

The melting point trends of model salts composed of coarse grain ions are examined using NPT molecular dynamics simulations. The model salts incorporate ion size asymmetry and distributed cation charge, which are two common features in ionic liquids. A series of single-phase and two-phase simulations are done at set temperatures with 50 K intervals for each salt, and the normal melting point is estimated within 50 K.

Molecular dynamics simulation of NaCl dissolution.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the dissolution of NaCl nanocrystals (containing ∼2400 ions) in water. We focus on systems under sink conditions at 300 K, but the influences of concentration and temperature are also investigated. Cubical, spherical, tablet-shaped, and rod-shaped nanocrystals are considered, and it is shown that the initial shape can influence the dissolution process.

Simulations of water transport through carbon nanotubes: how different water models influence the conduction rate.

The conduction rate of water through (8,8) and (9,9) carbon nanotubes at 300 K and a pressure difference of 220 MPa is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The TIP3P, SPC/E, and TIP4P/2005 water models are considered. The pressure-driven flow rate is found to be strongly model dependent for both nanotubes.

A Molecular Mechanism of Ice Nucleation on Model AgI Surfaces.

Heterogeneous ice nucleation at solid surfaces is important in many physical systems including the Earth's atmosphere. AgI is one of the best ice nucleating agents known; however, why AgI is such an effective ice nucleus is unclear. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that a good lattice match between ice and a AgI surface is insufficient to predict the ice nucleation ability of the surface.

Understanding electrofreezing in water simulations.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate why external electric fields promote the freezing of liquid water models. It is shown that the melting point of water at a pressure of 1 bar increases significantly when water is polarized by a uniform field. Fields of 1 V/nm and 2 V/nm increase the melting point by 24 K and 44 K, respectively.

Structure and aggregation in model tetramethylurea solutions.

The structure of model aqueous tetramethylurea (TMU) solutions is investigated employing large-scale (32,000, 64,000 particles) molecular dynamics simulations. Results are reported for TMU mole fractions, X(t), ranging from infinite dilution up to 0.07, and for two temperatures, 300 and 330 K.