0000000001314428
AUTHOR
Thijs J. H. Vlugt
Thermodynamics of small systems embedded in a reservoir: a detailed analysis of finite size effects
International audience; We present a detailed study on the finite size scaling behaviour of thermodynamic properties for small systems of particles embedded in a reservoir. Previously, we derived that the leading finite size effects of thermodynamic properties for small systems scale with the inverse of the linear length of the small system, and we showed how this can be used to describe systems in the thermodynamic limit [Chem. Phys. Lett. 504, 199 (2011)]. This approach takes into account an effective surface energy, as a result of the non-periodic boundaries of the small embedded system. Deviations from the linear behaviour occur when the small system becomes very small, i.e. smaller tha…
Fick diffusion coefficients of liquid mixtures directly obtained from equilibrium molecular dynamics.
A methodology for computing Fick diffusivities directly from equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is presented and validated for acetone-methanol and acetone-tetrachloromethane liquid mixtures. Fick diffusivities are obtained from Maxwell-Stefan (MS) diffusivities and the so-called thermodynamic factor. MS diffusivities describe the friction between different components, while the thermodynamic factor is the concentration derivative of the activity describing the deviation from ideal mixing behavior. It is important to note that all mutual diffusion experiments measure Fick diffusion coefficients, while molecular simulation provides MS diffusivities. The required thermodynamic fa…
Finite-size effects of Kirkwood–Buff integrals from molecular simulations
The modelling of thermodynamic properties of liquids from local density fluctuations is relevant to many chemical and biological processes. The Kirkwood–Buff (KB) theory connects the microscopic structure of isotropic liquids with macroscopic properties such as partial derivatives of activity coefficients, partial molar volumes and compressibilities. Originally, KB integrals were formulated for open and infinite systems which are difficult to access with standard Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Recently, KB integrals for finite and open systems were formulated (J Phys Chem Lett. 2013;4:235). From the scaling of KB integrals for finite subvolumes, embedded in larger reservoirs, with the…
Kirkwood-Buff integrals from molecular simulation
The Kirkwood-Buff (KB) theory provides a rigorous framework to predict thermodynamic properties of isotropic liquids from the microscopic structure. Several thermodynamic quantities relate to KB integrals, such as partial molar volumes. KB integrals are expressed as integrals of RDFs over volume but can also be obtained from density fluctuations in the grand-canonical ensemble. Various methods have been proposed to estimate KB integrals from molecular simulation. In this work, we review the available methods to compute KB integrals from molecular simulations of finite systems, and particular attention is paid to finite-size effects. We also review various applications of KB integrals comput…
Fick Diffusion Coefficients in Ternary Liquid Systems from Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations
An approach for computing Fick diffusivities directly from equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is presented and demonstrated for a ternary chloroform–acetone–methanol liquid mixture. In our approach, Fick diffusivities are calculated from the Maxwell–Stefan (MS) diffusivities and the so-called matrix of thermodynamic factors. MS diffusivities describe the friction between different molecular species and can be directly computed from MD simulations. The thermodynamic factor describes the deviation from ideal mixing behavior and is difficult to extract from both experiments and simulations. Here, we show that the thermodynamic factor in ternary systems can be obtained from density…
Calculating thermodynamic properties from fluctuations at small scales.
We show how density and energy fluctuations of small nonperiodic systems embedded in a reservoir can be used to determine macroscopic thermodynamic properties like the enthalpy density and the thermodynamic correction factor. For mixtures, the same formalism leads to a very convenient method to obtain so-called total correlation function integrals, also often referred to as Kirkwood-Buff integrals. Using finite size scaling, the properties obtained for small systems can be extrapolated to the macroscopic system limit provided that the system is sufficiently far from the critical point. As derived in our previous work (Chem. Phys. Lett. 2011, 504, 199-201), the finite size scaling is signifi…
Kirkwood-Buff Integrals for Finite Volumes.
Exact expressions for finite-volume Kirkwood−Buff (KB) integrals are derived for hyperspheres in one, two, and three dimensions. These integrals scale linearly with inverse system size. From this, accurate estimates of KB integrals for infinite systems are obtained, and it is shown that they converge much better than the traditional expressions. We show that this approach is very suitable for the computation of KB integrals from molecular dynamics simulations, as we obtain KB integrals for open systems by simulating closed systems.
Partial molar enthalpies and reaction enthalpies from equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation
We present a new molecular simulation technique for determining partial molar enthalpies in mixtures of gases and liquids from single simulations, without relying on particle insertions, deletions, or identity changes. The method can also be applied to systems with chemical reactions. We demonstrate our method for binary mixtures of Weeks-Chandler-Anderson particles by comparing with conventional simulation techniques, as well as for a simple model that mimics a chemical reaction. The method considers small subsystems inside a large reservoir (i.e., the simulation box), and uses the construction of Hill to compute properties in the thermodynamic limit from small-scale fluctuations. Results …
Thermodynamics of a small system in a μT reservoir
Abstract Due to advances in experimental techniques operating at the nanoscale, it is possible to compute properties from density fluctuations by studying ‘snapshots’ of particle configurations. Thermodynamics on a small scale is different from thermodynamics in bulk systems. We show how the molar enthalpy h and the inverse thermodynamic correction factor Γ - 1 depend on system size and how these properties can be computed from fluctuations at the nanoscale. We find a 1/ L finite size effect for all thermodynamic quantities for a small system in contact with a reservoir, where L is the length of the system in a single dimension.
How to apply the Kirkwood–Buff theory to individual species in salt solutions
It is generally assumed that the Kirkwood–Buff (KB) theory cannot be applied to anions and cations individually in a solution, as one cannot simulate this system in an open ensemble due to the electroneutrality constraint. By applying our recently derived KB theory for closed systems, we show that one does have access to single-ion properties in Molecular Dynamics. Our findings are supported by simulations for a model of a salt solution in which particles interact with WCA potentials, as well as for the NaCl/water system using the Particle Mesh Ewald technique for electrostatics.
Bridging scales with thermodynamics: from nano to macro
We have recently developed a method to calculate thermodynamic properties of macroscopic systems by extrapolating properties of systems of molecular dimensions. Appropriate scaling laws for small systems were derived using the method for small systems thermodynamics of Hill, considering surface and nook energies in small systems of varying sizes. Given certain conditions, Hill's method provides the same systematic basis for small systems as conventional thermodynamics does for large systems. We show how the method can be used to compute thermodynamic data for the macroscopic limit from knowledge of fluctuations in the small system. The rapid and precise method offers an alternative to curre…
Kirkwood–Buff Integrals Using Molecular Simulation: Estimation of Surface Effects
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Kirkwood–Buff integrals of finite systems
The Kirkwood–Buff (KB) theory provides an important connection between microscopic density fluctuations in liquids and macroscopic properties. Recently, Krüger et al. derived equations for KB integrals for finite subvolumes embedded in a reservoir. Using molecular simulation of finite systems, KB integrals can be computed either from density fluctuations inside such subvolumes, or from integrals of radial distribution functions (RDFs). Here, based on the second approach, we establish a framework to compute KB integrals for subvolumes with arbitrary convex shapes. This requires a geometric function w(x) which depends on the shape of the subvolume, and the relative position inside the subvolu…
Kirkwood–Buff integrals of finite systems: shape effects
The Kirkwood–Buff (KB) theory provides an important connection between microscopic density fluctuations in liquids and macroscopic properties. Recently, Krüger et al. derived equations for KB integrals for finite subvolumes embedded in a reservoir. Using molecular simulation of finite systems, KB integrals can be computed either from density fluctuations inside such subvolumes, or from integrals of radial distribution functions (RDFs). Here, based on the second approach, we establish a framework to compute KB integrals for subvolumes with arbitrary convex shapes. This requires a geometric function w(x) which depends on the shape of the subvolume, and the relative position inside the subvolu…