Modeling simple amphiphilic solutes in a Jagla solvent

The temperature of maximum density for aqueous solutions

Experimental and theoretical advances for understanding the temperature of maximum density (TMD) of aqueous solutions are outlined. The main equations that relate the TMD behavior to key thermodynamic properties are stated. The experimental TMD data are classified as a function of the nature of the solute (inorganic electrolytes, non-electrolytes, organic salts and ionic liquids, and amino acids and proteins). In addition, the experimental results that explore the effect of pressure are detailed. These experimental data are rationalized by making use of qualitative and semi-quantitative arguments based on the thermodynamics of aqueous systems. The main theoretical and simulation advances in TMD for aqueous solutions are also shown-including new calculations in the context of the scaled particle theory-and their ability to reproduce the experimental data is evaluated. Finally, new experiments and theoretical and simulation developments, which could give important insights into the problem of TMD for aqueous solutions, are proposed.

A Simple Two Dimensional Model of Methanol

Methanol is the simplest alcohol and possible energy carrier because it is easier to store than hydrogen and burns cleaner than fossil fuels. It is a colorless liquid, completely miscible with water and organic solvents and is very hygroscopic. Here, simple two-dimensional models of methanol, based on Mercedes-Benz (MB) model of water, are examined by Monte Carlo simulations. Methanol particles are modeled as dimers formed by an apolar Lennard-Jones disk, mimicking the methyl group, and a sphere with two hydrogen bonding arms for the hydroxyl group. The used models are the one proposed by Hribar-Lee and Dill (Acta Chimica Slovenica, 53:257, 2006.) with the overlapping discs and a new model with tangentially fused dimers. The comparison was done between the models, in connection to the MB water, as well as with experimental results and with new simulations done for 3D models of methanol. Both 2D models show similar trends in structuring and thermodynamics. The difference is the most pronounced at lower temperatures, where the smaller model exhibits spontaneous crystallization, while the larger model shows metastable states. The 2D structural organization represents well the clustering tendency observed in 3D models, as well as in experiments. The models qualitatively agree with the bulk methanol thermodynamic properties like density and isothermal compressibility, however, heat capacity at the constant pressure shows trend more similar to the water behavior. This work on the smallest amphiphilic organic solute provides a simple testing ground to study the competition between polar and non-polar effects within the molecule and physical properties.

Temperature of maximum density and excess properties of short-chain alcohol aqueous solutions: A simplified model simulation study

We perform an extensive computational study of binary mixtures of water and short-chain alcohols resorting to two-scale potential models to account for the singularities of hydrogen bonded liquids. Water molecules are represented by a well studied core softened potential which is known to qualitatively account for a large number of water's characteristic anomalies. Along the same lines, alcohol molecules are idealized by dimers in which the hydroxyl groups interact with each other and with water with a core softened potential as well. Interactions involving non-polar groups are all deemed purely repulsive. We find that the qualitative behavior of excess properties (excess volume, enthalpy, and constant pressure heat capacity) agrees with that found experimentally for alcohols such as t-butanol in water. Moreover, we observe that our simple solute under certain conditions acts as a "structure-maker," in the sense that the temperature of maximum density of the bulk water model increases as the solute is added, i.e., the anomalous behavior of the solvent is enhanced by the solute.

Mixtures of two self- and mutually-associating liquids: Phase behavior, second virial coefficients, and entropy-enthalpy compensation in the free energy of mixing

The theoretical description of the phase behavior of polymers dissolved in binary mixtures of water and other miscible solvents is greatly complicated by the self- and mutual-association of the solvent molecules. As a first step in treating these complex and widely encountered solutions, we have developed an extension of Flory-Huggins theory to describe mixtures of two self- and mutually-associating fluids comprised of small molecules. Analytic expressions are derived here for basic thermodynamic properties of these fluid mixtures, including the spinodal phase boundaries, the second osmotic virial coefficients, and the enthalpy and entropy of mixing these associating solvents. Mixtures of this kind are found to exhibit characteristic closed loop phase boundaries and entropy-enthalpy compensation for the free energy of mixing in the low temperature regime where the liquid components are miscible. As discussed by Widom et al. [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 5, 3085 (2003)], these basic miscibility trends, quite distinct from those observed in non-associating solvents, are defining phenomenological characteristics of the "hydrophobic effect." We find that our theory of mixtures of associating fluids captures at least some of the thermodynamic features of real aqueous mixtures.

Lattice model for water-solute mixtures

A lattice model for the study of mixtures of associating liquids is proposed. Solvent and solute are modeled by adapting the associating lattice gas (ALG) model. The nature of interaction of solute/solvent is controlled by tuning the energy interactions between the patches of ALG model. We have studied three set of parameters, resulting in, hydrophilic, inert, and hydrophobic interactions. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations were carried out, and the behavior of pure components and the excess properties of the mixtures have been studied. The pure components, water (solvent) and solute, have quite similar phase diagrams, presenting gas, low density liquid, and high density liquid phases. In the case of solute, the regions of coexistence are substantially reduced when compared with both the water and the standard ALG models. A numerical procedure has been developed in order to attain series of results at constant pressure from simulations of the lattice gas model in the grand canonical ensemble. The excess properties of the mixtures, volume and enthalpy as the function of the solute fraction, have been studied for different interaction parameters of the model. Our model is able to reproduce qualitatively well the excess volume and enthalpy for different aqueous solutions. For the hydrophilic case, we show that the model is able to reproduce the excess volume and enthalpy of mixtures of small alcohols and amines. The inert case reproduces the behavior of large alcohols such as propanol, butanol, and pentanol. For the last case (hydrophobic), the excess properties reproduce the behavior of ionic liquids in aqueous solution.

Temperature of maximum density and excess thermodynamics of aqueous mixtures of methanol

In this work, we present a study of representative excess thermodynamic properties of aqueous mixtures of methanol over the complete concentration range, based on extensive computer simulation calculations. In addition to test various existing united atom model potentials, we have developed a new force-field which accurately reproduces the excess thermodynamics of this system. Moreover, we have paid particular attention to the behavior of the temperature of maximum density (TMD) in dilute methanol mixtures. The presence of a temperature of maximum density is one of the essential anomalies exhibited by water. This anomalous behavior is modified in a non-monotonous fashion by the presence of fully miscible solutes that partly disrupt the hydrogen bond network of water, such as methanol (and other short chain alcohols). In order to obtain a better insight into the phenomenology of the changes in the TMD of water induced by small amounts of methanol, we have performed a new series of experimental measurements and computer simulations using various force fields. We observe that none of the force-fields tested capture the non-monotonous concentration dependence of the TMD for highly diluted methanol solutions.

Existence of a liquid-liquid phase transition in methanol

A simple model is constructed to study the phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of methanol, which is described as a dimer of an apolar sphere mimicking the methyl group and a sphere with core-softened potential as the hydroxyl group. Performing classical Monte Carlo simulations, we obtained the phase diagram, showing a second critical point between two different liquid phases. Evaluating systems with a different number of particles, we extrapolate to infinite size in accordance with Ising universality class to obtain bulk values for critical temperature, pressure, and density. Strong evidence that the structure of the liquid changes upon transition from high- to low-density phase was provided. From the experimentally determined hydrogen bond strength and length in methanol and water, we propose where the second critical point of methanol should be.

Properties of a soft-core model of methanol: an integral equation theory and computer simulation study

Thermodynamic and structural properties of a coarse-grained model of methanol are examined by Monte Carlo simulations and reference interaction site model (RISM) integral equation theory. Methanol particles are described as dimers formed from an apolar Lennard-Jones sphere, mimicking the methyl group, and a sphere with a core-softened potential as the hydroxyl group. Different closure approximations of the RISM theory are compared and discussed. The liquid structure of methanol is investigated by calculating site-site radial distribution functions and static structure factors for a wide range of temperatures and densities. Results obtained show a good agreement between RISM and Monte Carlo simulations. The phase behavior of methanol is investigated by employing different thermodynamic routes for the calculation of the RISM free energy, drawing gas-liquid coexistence curves that match the simulation data. Preliminary indications for a putative second critical point between two different liquid phases of methanol are also discussed.

A coarse-grained protein model in a water-like solvent

Simulations employing an explicit atom description of proteins in solvent can be computationally expensive. On the other hand, coarse-grained protein models in implicit solvent miss essential features of the hydrophobic effect, especially its temperature dependence, and have limited ability to capture the kinetics of protein folding. We propose a free space two-letter protein (“H-P”) model in a simple, but qualitatively accurate description for water, the Jagla model, which coarse-grains water into an isotropically interacting sphere. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we design protein-like sequences that can undergo a collapse, exposing the “Jagla-philic” monomers to the solvent, while maintaining a “hydrophobic” core. This protein-like model manifests heat and cold denaturation in a manner that is reminiscent of proteins. While this protein-like model lacks the details that would introduce secondary structure formation, we believe that these ideas represent a first step in developing a useful, but computationally expedient, means of modeling proteins.

A molecular dynamics study of the equation of state and the structure of supercooled aqueous solutions of methanol

We perform molecular dynamics computer simulations in order to study the equation of state and the structure of supercooled aqueous solutions of methanol at methanol mole fractions x(m) = 0.05 and x(m) = 0.10. We model the solvent using the TIP4P/2005 potential and the methanol using the OPLS-AA force field. We find that for x(m) = 0.05 the behavior of the equation of state, studied in the P - T and P - ρ planes, is consistent with the presence of a liquid-liquid phase transition, reminiscent of that previously found for x(m) = 0. We estimate the position of the liquid-liquid critical point to be at T = 193 K, P = 96 MPa, and ρ = 1.003 g/cm(3). When the methanol mole fraction is doubled to x(m) = 0.10 no liquid-liquid transition is observed, indicating its possible disappearance at this concentration. We also study the water-water and water-methanol structure in the two solutions. We find that down to low temperature methanol can be incorporated into the water structure for both x(m) = 0.05 and x(m) = 0.10.

Fragile-to-strong crossover coupled to the liquid-liquid transition in hydrophobic solutions

Using discrete molecular dynamics simulations we study the relation between the thermodynamic and diffusive behaviors of a primitive model of aqueous solutions of hydrophobic solutes consisting of hard spheres in the Jagla particles solvent, close to the liquid-liquid critical point of the solvent. We find that the fragile-to-strong dynamic transition in the diffusive behavior is always coupled to the low-density-high-density liquid transition. Above the liquid-liquid critical pressure, the diffusivity crossover occurs at the Widom line, the line along which the thermodynamic response functions show maxima. Below the liquid-liquid critical pressure, the diffusivity crossover occurs when the limit of mechanical stability lines are crossed, as indicated by the hysteresis observed when going from high to low temperature and vice versa. These findings show that the strong connection between dynamics and thermodynamics found in bulk water persists in hydrophobic solutions for concentrations from low to moderate, indicating that experiments measuring the relaxation time in aqueous solutions represent a viable route for solving the open questions in the field of supercooled water.