Publications

Structure, energetics, and dynamics of water adsorbed on the muscovite (001) surface: A molecular dynamics simulation

Wang, Jianwei; Kalinichev, Andrey G.; Kirkpatrick, R.J.; Cygan, Randall T.

Molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations of liquid water adsorbed on the muscovite (001) surface provide a greatly increased, atomistically detailed understanding of surface-related effects on the spatial variation in the structural and orientational ordering, hydrogen bond (H-bond) organization, and local density of H 2O molecules at this important model phyllosilicate surface. MD simulations at constant temperature and volume (statistical NVT ensemble) were performed for a series of model systems consisting of a two-layer muscovite slab (representing 8 crystallographic surface unit cells of the substrate) and 0 to 319 adsorbed H 2O molecules, probing the atomistic structure and dynamics of surface aqueous films up to 3 nm in thickness. The results do not demonstrate a completely liquid-like behavior, as otherwise suggested from the interpretation of X-ray reflectivity measurements 1 and earlier Monte Carlo simulations. 2 Instead, a more structurally and orientationally restricted behavior of surface H 2O molecules is observed, and this structural ordering extends to larger distances from the surface than previously expected. Even at the largest surface water coverage studied, over 20% of H 2O molecules are associated with specific adsorption sites, and another 50% maintain strongly preferred orientations relative to the surface. This partially ordered structure is also different from the well-ordered 2-dimensional ice-like structure predicted by ab initio MD simulations for a system with a complete monolayer water coverage. 3 However, consistent with these ab initio results, our simulations do predict that a full molecular monolayer surface water coverage represents a relatively stable surface structure in terms of the lowest diffusional mobility of H 2O molecules along the surface. Calculated energies of water adsorption are in good agreement with available experimental data. 4 © 2005 American Chemical Society.