Primitive models of chemical association. I. Theory and simulation for dimerization

The structure and thermodynamic properties of a model of associating particles that dimerize into fused‐sphere dumbbells are investigated by MC simulation and by integral‐equation theory. The model particles, introduced by Cummings and Stell, associate as a result of shielded attractive shells. The integral equation theories are of two types. The first is an extension of Wertheim’s associative Percus–Yevick (APY) equation to the case of the shielded sticky shell model, which is the limiting case of the shielded attractive shell model that can be handled analytically. The second is the extended mean spherical approximation (EMSA) of Zhou and Stell applied to the shielded sticky shell model. In the case of partially associated systems, the EMSA requires as input the equilibrium association constant, which is obtained here using an exact relation between monomer density and a cavity correlation function, together with an equation of state due to Boublik. The structure obtained from the EMSA is in good agreem...