Descripción: We use ring-polymer-molecular-dynamics (RPMD) techniques and the semi-empirical q-TIP4P/F water model to investigate the relationship between hydrogen bond connectivity and the characteristics of nuclear position fluctuations, including explicit incorporation of quantum effects, for the energetically low lying isomers of the prototype cluster [H2O] 8 at T = 50 K and at 150 K. Our results reveal that tunneling and zero-point energy effects lead to sensible increments in the magnitudes of the fluctuations of intra and intermolecular distances. The degree of proton spatial delocalization is found to map logically with the hydrogen-bond connectivity pattern of the cluster. Dangling hydrogen bonds exhibit the largest extent of spatial delocalization and participate in shorter intramolecular O-H bonds. Combined effects from quantum and polarization fluctuations on the resulting individual dipole moments are also examined. From the dynamical side, we analyze the characteristics of the infrared absorption spectrum. The incorporation of nuclear quantum fluctuations promotes red shifts and sensible broadening relative to the classical profile, bringing the simulation results in much more satisfactory agreement with direct experimental information in the mid and high frequency range of the stretching band. While RPMD predictions overestimate the peak position of the low frequency shoulder, the overall agreement with that reported using an accurate, parameterized, many-body potential is reasonable, and far superior to that one obtains by implementing a partially adiabatic centroid molecular dynamics approach. Quantum effects on the collective dynamics, as reported by instantaneous normal modes, are also discussed. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Descripción: We present results from molecular dynamics simulations performed on reverse micelles immersed in cyclohexane. Three different inner polar phases are considered: water (W), formamide (FM), and an equimolar mixture of the two solvents. In all cases, the surfactant was sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (usually known as AOT). The initial radii of the micelles were R∼15 Å, while the corresponding polar solvent-to-surfactant molar ratios were intermediate between w0 =4.3 for FM and w0 =7 for W. The resulting overall shapes of the micelles resemble distorted ellipsoids, with average eccentricities of the order of ∼0.75. Moreover, the pattern of the surfactant layer separating the inner pool from the non-polar phase looks highly irregular, with a roughness characterized by length scales comparable to the micelle radii. Solvent dipole orientation polarization along radial directions exhibit steady growths as one moves from central positions toward head group locations. Local density correlations within the micelles indicate preferential solvation of sodium ionic species by water, in contrast to the behavior found in bulk equimolar mixtures. Still, a sizable fraction of ∼90% of Na+ remains associated with the head groups. Compared to bulk results, the translational and rotational modes of the confined solvents exhibit important retardations, most notably those operated in rotational motions where the characteristic time scales may be up to 50 times larger. Modifications of the intramolecular connectivity expressed in terms of the average number of hydrogen bonds and their lifetimes are also discussed. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.