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The optimized geometry and energetic properties of Fe(D2O)n 3+ clusters, with n = 4 and 6, have been studied with density-functional theory calculations and the BLYP functional, and the hydration of a single Fe 3+ ion in a periodic box with 32 water molecules at room temperature has been studied with Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics and the same functional. We have compared the results from the CPMD simulation with classical MD simulations, using a flexible SPC-based water model and the same number of water molecules, to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two MD methods. The classical MD simulations and the CPMD simulations both give Fe-water distances in good agreement with experiment, but for the intramolecular vibrations, the classical MD yields considerably better absolute frequencies and ion-induced frequency shifts. On the other hand, the CPMD method performs considerably better than the classical MD in describing the intramolecular geometry of the water molecule in the first hydration shell and the average first shell...second shell hydrogen-bond distance. Differences between the two methods are also found with respect to the second-shell water orientations. The effect of the small box size (32 vs 512 water molecules) was evaluated by comparing results from classical simulations using different box sizes; non-negligible effects are found for the ion-water distance and the tilt angles of the water molecules in the second hydration shell and for the O-D stretching vibrational frequencies of the water molecules in the first hydration shell.

Molecular dynamics simulations of single-ion Fe2+(aq) and Fe3+(aq) solutions have been performed with two rigid-water models (SPC and SPC/E) and a newly constructed SPC-based flexible-water model ( ...

The nature of the metal-ceramic interaction in the Ag/MgO(001) interface is studied using periodic Hartree-Fock calculations with density functional theory a posteriori correlation corrections. Different aspects of the Ag-MgO interaction have been studied by analysis of the electronic properties: total and projected density of states, multipole moments, bond population, and the difference electron density. By linking these properties to the adsorption energy and making a comparative analysis for interfaces with different degrees of coverage and different adsorption models (one- and two-sided adsorption), a detailed description of the Ag-MgO has been acquired.

The solvent exchange rate of aqueous Li+ has been determined by employing the reactive flux method in combination with very long molecular dynamics simulations based on effective three-body ion−water potentials. The mechanisms for the resulting exchange events have been studied in considerable detail and analyzed in terms of the five commonly discussed exchange classes: associative (A), dissociative (D), and interchange (I, Ia, Id). Furthermore, the stereochemistry (cis, trans) of each exchange has been monitored and correlated with the exchange classes. Most of the exchanges are associative or associative interchanges and of a trans type, although the trans exchanges are less probable on a purely statistical basis.

Theoretical extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra have been computed from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data. Based on MD-generated molecular geometries, EXAFS spectra were generated with the FEFF6 program, commonly used in the analysis of experimental EXAFS spectra. The effects of multiple scattering and second-shell neighbors on the theoretical spectra were evaluated for CaCl2(aq) and AlCl3(aq), i.e., for two solutions with very different cation hydration structures. The effects are significantly larger for the more structured Al3+ solution, The theoretical Ca2+(aq) spectra are compared with new experimental EXAFS data.

Doping CeO2 with for example, Ca gives an enhanced reactivity toward reduction of SO2 by CO, and total combustion of methane. Theoretical modeling using static minimizations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the doped (110) face in combination with ab initio quantum chemical cluster models shows large effects on the Ce(IV)/Ce(III) balance due to the doping. Computed oxygen-to-cerium charge-transfer energies are strongly reduced as a result of the introduction of defects and oxygen vacancies, but not sufficiently to explain the observed reactivities. The structures resulting from the MD simulations for both the doped and undoped material are in good agreement with recent experimental pulsed neutron scattering results.

The solvent exchange mechanisms around alkali cations in dilute aqueous solution have been investigated from cation−oxygen distance vs time curves, molecular animations, activation volumes, and lif...