Electrokinetic flow of an aqueous electrolyte in amorphous silica nanotubes.

We study the pressure-driven flow of aqueous NaCl in amorphous silica nanotubes using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations featuring both polarizable and non-polarizable molecular models. Different pressures, electrolyte concentrations and pore sizes are examined. Our results indicate a flow that deviates considerably from the predictions of Poiseuille fluid mechanics.

Algorithms for GPU-based molecular dynamics simulations of complex fluids: Applications to water, mixtures, and liquid crystals.

A custom code for molecular dynamics simulations has been designed to run on CUDA-enabled NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs). The double-precision code simulates multicomponent fluids, with intramolecular and intermolecular forces, coarse-grained and atomistic models, holonomic constraints, Nosé-Hoover thermostats, and the generation of distribution functions. Algorithms to compute Lennard-Jones and Gay-Berne interactions, and the electrostatic force using Ewald summations, are discussed.

Molecular dynamics simulations to examine structure, energetics, and evaporation/condensation dynamics in small charged clusters of water or methanol containing a single monatomic ion.

We study small clusters of water or methanol containing a single Ca(2+), Na(+), or Cl(-) ion with classical molecular dynamics simulations, using models that incorporate polarizability via the Drude oscillator framework. Evaporation and condensation of solvent from these clusters is examined in two systems, (1) for isolated clusters initially prepared at different temperatures and (2) those with a surrounding inert (Ar) gas of varying temperature. We examine these clusters over a range of sizes, from almost bare ions up to 40 solvent molecules.

How are completely desolvated ions produced in electrospray ionization: insights from molecular dynamics simulations.

We apply molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the final phase of electrospray ionization (ESI), where an ion loses all of its associated solvent molecules. By applying an electric field to a cluster of H(2)O molecules solvating an ion and including a surrounding gas of varying pressure, we demonstrate that collisions with the gas play a major role in removing this final layer of solvent. We make quantitative predictions of the critical velocity required for the cluster to start losing molecules via collisions with gas and propose that this should be important in real ESI experiments.

Solvation of phenylglycine- and leucine-derived chiral stationary phases: molecular dynamics simulation study.

A theoretical study of the solvation of ( R)- N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)phenylglycine- and ( R)- N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)leucine-derived chiral stationary phases (CSPs) is presented. Semiflexible models of the chiral selectors are prepared from B3LYP/6-311G** calculations, and these are used in the molecular dynamics simulations of the corresponding interface. The chiral interface is examined for four solvents: 100% hexane, 90:10 hexane:2-propanol, 80:20 hexane:2-propanol, and 100% 2-propanol.

Solvation of the N-(1-Phenylethyl)-N'-[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]-urea chiral stationary phase in mixed alcohol/water solvents.

A theoretical and experimental study of alcohol/water and alcohol/alcohol solvent mixtures near a surface of N-(1-phenylethyl)-N'-[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]-urea (PEPU), a Pirkle-type chiral stationary phase, is presented. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed at room temperature for water/methanol, water/1-propanol, water/2-propanol, and methanol/1-propanol solvent mixtures confined between two PEPU surfaces. The interface was also prepared experimentally by attaching the PEPU molecules to atomic force microscopy tips and oxidized Si(111) substrates.