174 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of hydronium and hydroxide surface solvation
No full text[Introduction] The concentration of hydronium and hydroxide at the water-air interface has been under debate for a long time. Recent evidence
from a range of experiments and theoretical calculations strongly suggests the water surface is somewhat acidic. Using novel
polarizable models we have performed potential of mean force calculations of a hydronium ion, a hydroxide ion and a water
molecule in a water droplet and a water slab and we were able to rationalize that hydronium, but not hydroxide, is slightly
enriched at the surface for two reasons. First, because the hydrogen-bond acceptance capacity of hydronium is weaker than
water it is more favorable to have the hydronium oxygen on the surface. Second, hydroxide ions are expelled from the surface
of droplets, due to the entropy being lower when a hydroxide ion is hydrated on the surface. As a result, the water dissociation
constant pK
w
increases slightly near the surface. The results are corroborated by calculations of surface tension of NaOH
solutions that are in reasonable agreement with experiment. The structural and thermodynamic interpretation of hydronium
and hydroxide hydration provided by these calculations opens the route to a better understanding of atmospheric- and surface
chemistry.peerReviewe
Towards Single Molecule Imaging - Understanding Structural Transitions Using Ultrafast X-ray Sources and Computer Simulations
No full textX-ray lasers bring us into a new world in photon science by delivering extraordinarily intense beams of x-rays in very short bursts that can be more than ten billion times brighter than pulses from other x-ray sources. These lasers find applications in sciences ranging from astrophysics to structural biology, and could allow us to obtain images of single macromolecules when these are injected into the x-ray beam. A macromolecule injected into vacuum in a microdroplet will be affected by evaporation and by the dynamics of the carrier liquid before being hit by the x-ray pulse. Simulations of neutral and charged water droplets were performed to predict structural changes and changes of temperature due to evaporation. The results are discussed in the aspect of single molecule imaging. Further studies show ionization caused by the intense x-ray radiation. These simulations reveal the development of secondary electron cascades in water. Other studies show the development of these cascades in KI and CsI where experimental data exist. The results are in agreement with observation, and show the temporal, spatial and energetic evolution of secondary electron cascades in the sample. X-ray diffraction is sensitive to structural changes on the length scale of chemical bonds. Using a short infrared pump pulse to trigger structural changes, and a short x-ray pulse for probing it, these changes can be studied with a temporal resolution similar to the pulse lengths. Time resolved diffraction experiments were performed on a phase transition during resolidification of a non-thermally molten InSb crystal. The experiment reveals the dynamics of crystal regrowth. Computer simulations were performed on the infrared laser-induced melting of bulk ice, giving a comprehension of the dynamics and the wavelength dependence of melting. These studies form a basis for planning experiments with x-ray lasers
Secondary Electron Cascade Dynamics in KI and CsI
No full textWe present a study of the characteristics of secondary electron cascades in two photocathode materials, KI and CsI. To do so, we have employed a model that enables us to explicitly follow the electron trajectories once the dielectric properties have been derived semiempirically from the energy loss function. Furthermore, we introduce a modification to the model by which the energy loss function is calculated in a first-principle manner using the GW approximation for the self-energy of the electrons. We find good agreement between the two approaches. Our results show comparable saturation times and secondary electron yields for the cascades in the two materials, and a narrower electron energy distribution (51%) for KI compared to that for CsI
A Validation Study of the General Amber Force Field Applied to Energetic Molecular Crystals
No full textMolecula dynamics is a well-established tool to computationally study molecules. However, to reach predictive capability at the level required for applied research and design, extensive validation of the available force fields is pertinent. Here we present a study of density, isothermal compressibility and coefficients of thermal expansion of four energetic materials (FOX-7, RDX, CL-20 and HMX) based on molecular dynamics simulations with the General Amber Force Field (GAFF), and compare the results to experimental measurements from the literature. Furthermore, we quantify the accuracy of the calculated properties through hydrocode simulation of a typical impact scenario. We find that molecular dynamics simulations with generic and computationally efficient force fields may be used to understand and estimate important physical properties of nitramine-like energetic materials
Advances in Biomolecular Imaging with X-ray Free-Electron Lasers
No full textUtilizing X-rays to solve molecular structures has proven to be an immensely powerful and im- portant scientific technique. The invention of X-ray crystallography has allowed for countless breakthroughs in chemistry, biology and material science and remains the number one method used for structural determination today. Of particular interest is the structures of biomolecules, such as proteins, due to their medical relevance. Unfortunately, the need for crystals of sufficient size constitutes the biggest drawback to this approach. This is troubling since many of the im- portant biomolecules, in particular membrane proteins, have proven to be difficult or sometimes even impossible to crystalize. When limited to a small nanocrystal or even a single particle, con- ventional crystallography is no longer adequate to probe the structure at high enough resolution. Recent developments, most notably the introduction of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), have opened up new possibilities for circumventing these limitations. The high intensities and ultra- short pulse lengths provided by XFELs allows for diffractive imaging of smaller crystals through Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SFX) and can even be extended to single molecules, Single Particle Imaging (SPI). These methods are still in their infancies, and much research and refine- ment is needed before they can be properly established.The current work covers fundamental studies of X-ray interaction with biomatter carried out to aid and improve upon SFX and SPI. Three papers based on computer simulation studies are presented, related to mainly two central aspects faced when imaging molecules with XFELs. Pa- per I explores a novel approach using explosion mapping to facilitate spatial orientation of single particles, which is necessary to reconstruct the three dimensional structure from two dimensional diffraction patterns. Paper II concerns radiation damage of the sample in SFX experiments using a plasma model and studies the impact of different pulse profiles on these processes. Lastly, pa- per III outlines the details of an online database available to researchers worldwide that contains simulated data on damage development in samples exposed to an XFEL pulse.In the first study, molecular dynamics was adopted to map the XFEL-induced Coulomb explo- sions in SPI for biomolecules. Four proteins were investigated, each with three different levels of hydration, and it was found that explosion patterns for both carbon and sulfur ions are re- producible for all twelve systems. However, water bound to the protein surface seems to have a shielding effect on carbons, causing their trajectories to be favored toward the exposed parts of the sample. This complicates the adoption for orientation determination as the water content would have to be known. Sulfurs, on the other hand, showed no signs of water dependence and consistently produced similar explosion patterns regardless of hydration level. We speculate that this is because of their higher mass and ionization cross section and conclude that mapping of heavier ions could provide valuable information for spatial orientation.In the second study, radiation damage in terms of ionization and atomic displacement within a nanometer-sized crystal illuminated by an XFEL pulse was explored with a non-local thermody- namic equilibrium plasma code. Different temporal distributions of the same number of photons was employed to assess its impact of damage dynamics. The results show that the pulse profile is substantially important. A front-loaded pulse is more beneficial for imaging purposes since the bulk of the photons encounters an undamaged sample. If the majority of photons instead arrive late, early photons will already have initiated the crystal decay causing further contribution to the diffraction pattern to be degraded.In the third study, the free-electron laser damage simulation database (FreeDam) was estab- lished. It presents simulated time-resolved data for average ionization, ion and electron temper- atures and atomic displacement for various materials and XFEL parameters. Simulations were carried out using the same code as in paper II, and the data is freely available online.This thesis is aimed to provide one of the stepping stones toward atomic resolution imaging of nanocrystals and single particles with free-electron lasers. If realized, these techniques could well turn out to be one of the greatest scientific achievements of the 21th century.</p
Temperature and structural changes of water clusters in vacuum due to evaporation
No full textThis paper presents a study on evaporation of pure water clusters. Molecular dynamics simulations between 20 ns and 3 mu s of clusters ranging from 125 to 4096 molecules in vacuum were performed. Three different models (SPC, TIP4P, and TIP5P) were used to simulate water, starting at temperatures of 250, 275, and 300 K. We monitored the temperature, the number of hydrogen bonds, the tetrahedral order, the evaporation, the radial distribution functions, and the diffusion coefficients. The three models behave very similarly as far as temperature and evaporation are concerned. Clusters starting at a higher temperature show a higher initial evaporation rate and therefore reach the point where evaporation stop (around 240 K) sooner. The radius of the clusters is decreased by 0.16-0.22 nm after 0.5 mu s (larger clusters tend to decrease their radius slightly more), which corresponds to around one evaporated molecule per nm(2). The cluster temperature seems to converge towards 215 K independent of cluster size, when starting at 275 K. We observe only small structural changes, but the clusters modeled by TIP5P show a larger percentage of molecules with low diffusion coefficient as t ->infinity, than those using the two other water models. TIP4P seems to be more structured and more hydrogen bonds are formed than in the other models as the temperature falls. The cooling rates are in good agreement with experimental results, and evaporation rates agree well with a phenomenological expression based on experimental observations.</p
Picosecond Melting of Ice by an Infrared Laser Pulse: A Simulation Study
No full textCold as ice: Molecular dynamics simulation provides snapshots of a melting ice crystal (see picture). The laser pulse heats up the system, and the energy is absorbed in the OH bonds. After a few picoseconds, the energy is transferred to rotational and translational energy, causing the crystal to melt. The melting starts as a nucleation process, and even long after the first melting is initialized, pockets of crystalline structures can be found.</p
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