New Electrical Conductivity Model for Electrolyte Solutions Based on the Debye-Hückel-Onsager Theory

Accurate Free Energies of Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions from Molecular Simulations with Non-polarizable Force Fields

Non-polarizable force fields fail to accurately predict free energies of aqueous electrolytes without compromising the predictive ability for densities and transport properties. A new approach is presented in which (1) TIP4P/2005 water and scaled charge force fields are used to describe the interactions in the liquid phase and (2) an additional Effective Charge Surface (ECS) is used to compute free energies at zero additional computational expense. The ECS is obtained using a single temperature-independent charge scaling parameter per species. Thereby, the chemical potential of water and the free energies of hydration of various aqueous salts (e.g., NaCl and LiCl) are accurately described (deviations less than 5% from experiments), in sharp contrast to calculations where the ECS is omitted (deviations larger than 20%). This approach enables accurate predictions of free energies of aqueous electrolyte solutions using non-polarizable force fields, without compromising liquid-phase properties.

Theoretical and practical investigation of ion-ion association in electrolyte solutions

In this study, we present a new equation of state for electrolyte solutions, integrating the statistical associating fluid theory for variable range interactions utilizing the generic Mie form and binding Debye-Hückel theories. This equation of state underscores the pivotal role of ion-ion association in determining the properties of electrolyte solutions. We propose a unified framework that simultaneously examines the thermodynamic properties of electrolyte solutions and their electrical conductivity, given the profound impact of ion pairing on this transport property. Using this equation of state, we predict the liquid density, mean ionic activity coefficient, and osmotic coefficient for binary NaCl, Na2SO4, and MgSO4 aqueous solutions at 298.15 K. Additionally, we evaluate the molar conductivity of these systems by considering the fraction of free ions derived from our equation of state in conjunction with two advanced electrical conductivity models. Our results reveal that, while ion-ion association has a minimal influence on the modification of the predicted properties of sodium chloride solutions, their impact on sodium and magnesium sulfate solutions is considerably more noticeable.

Novel Model for Predicting the Electrical Conductivity of Multisalt Electrolyte Solutions

This study presents a novel model to predict the electrical conductivity of multisalt electrolyte solutions by incorporating corrections to the ideal behavior due to relaxation and electrophoretic effects. The performance of the model is evaluated by comparing its predictions with the experimental data of 24 multisalt aqueous solutions. The comparison reveals good agreement for solutions with an ionic strength below 1 mol/L without adjusting any parameter to fit to the experimental data. However, the model tends to overestimate the molar conductivity at higher ionic strengths. The discrepancy is attributed to the neglect of the solvent structure and the formation of ion pairs. It has been speculated how the accuracy of the developed model could be improved in relation to these limitations. Furthermore, the performance of the model is rigorously tested in systems with ion complex formation. It has been demonstrated that when the distribution of ion complexes is calculated from a thermodynamic model and then used to predict the electrical conductivity with the developed model, a satisfactory level of accuracy is attained for these systems.