Lennard potential

Two simulation methods—Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics—allow calculation of the density profile and pressure difference of Eq. III-44 across the vapor-liquid interface [64, 65]. In the former method, the initial system consists of N molecules in assumed positions. An intermolecule potential function is chosen, such as the Lennard-Jones potential, and the positions are randomly varied until the energy of the system is at a minimum. The resulting configuration is taken to be the equilibrium one. In the molecular dynamics approach, the N molecules are given initial positions and velocities and the equations of motion are solved to follow the ensuing collisions until the set shows constant time-average thermodynamic properties. Both methods are computer intensive yet widely used. 

The gradient model for interfacial tension described in Eqs. III-42 and III-43 is limited to interaction potentials that decay more rapidly than r. Thus it can be applied to the Lennard-Jones potential but not to a longer range interaction such as dipole-dipole interaction. Where does this limitation come from, and what does it imply for interfacial tensions of various liquids ... 

One fascinating feature of the physical chemistry of surfaces is the direct influence of intermolecular forces on interfacial phenomena. The calculation of surface tension in section III-2B, for example, is based on the Lennard-Jones potential function illustrated in Fig. III-6. The wide use of this model potential is based in physical analysis of intermolecular forces that we summarize in this chapter. In this chapter, we briefly discuss the fundamental electromagnetic forces. The electrostatic forces between charged species are covered in Chapter V. 

We have two interaction potential energies between uncharged molecules that vary with distance to the minus sixth power as found in the Lennard-Jones potential. Thus far, none of these interactions accounts for the general attraction between atoms and molecules that are neither charged nor possess a dipole moment. After all, CO and Nj are similarly sized, and have roughly comparable heats of vaporization and hence molecular attraction, although only the former has a dipole moment. 

Molecular dynamics calculations have been made on atomic crystals using a Lennard-Jones potential. These have to be done near the melting point in order for the iterations not to be too lengthy and have yielded density functioi). as one passes through the solid-vapor interface (see Ref. 45). The calculations showed considerable mobility in the surface region, amounting to the presence of a... 

The behavior of insoluble monolayers at the hydrocarbon-water interface has been studied to some extent. In general, a values for straight-chain acids and alcohols are greater at a given film pressure than if spread at the water-air interface. This is perhaps to be expected since the nonpolar phase should tend to reduce the cohesion between the hydrocarbon tails. See Ref. 91 for early reviews. Takenaka [92] has reported polarized resonance Raman spectra for an azo dye monolayer at the CCl4-water interface some conclusions as to orientation were possible. A mean-held theory based on Lennard-Jones potentials has been used to model an amphiphile at an oil-water interface one conclusion was that the depth of the interfacial region can be relatively large [93]. 

Table A2.3.2 Halide-water, alkali metal cation-water and water-water potential parameters (SPC/E model). In the SPC/E model for water, the charges on H are at 1.000 A from the Lennard-Jones centre at O. The negative charge is at the O site and the HOH angle is 109.47°.

Truncation at the first-order temi is justified when the higher-order tenns can be neglected. Wlien pe higher-order tenns small. One choice exploits the fact that a, which is the mean value of the perturbation over the reference system, provides a strict upper bound for the free energy. This is the basis of a variational approach [78, 79] in which the reference system is approximated as hard spheres, whose diameters are chosen to minimize the upper bound for the free energy. The diameter depends on the temperature as well as the density. The method was applied successfiilly to Lennard-Jones fluids, and a small correction for the softness of the repulsive part of the interaction, which differs from hard spheres, was added to improve the results. 

Figure A3.1.1. Typical pair potentials. Illustrated here are the Lennard-Jones potential, and the Weeks-Chandler- Anderson potential, which gives the same repulsive force as the Leimard-Jones potential.

Larson R S and Lightfoot E J 1988 Thermally activated escape from a Lennard-Jones potential well Physica A 149 296-312... 

Figure B3.3.4. Lennard-Jones pair potential showing the and r eontributions.

Rare-gas clusters can be produced easily using supersonic expansion. They are attractive to study theoretically because the interaction potentials are relatively simple and dominated by the van der Waals interactions. The Lennard-Jones pair potential describes the stmctures of the rare-gas clusters well and predicts magic clusters with icosahedral stmctures [139, 140]. The first five icosahedral clusters occur at 13, 55, 147, 309 and 561 atoms and are observed in experiments of Ar, Kr and Xe clusters [1411. Small helium clusters are difficult to produce because of the extremely weak interactions between helium atoms. Due to the large zero-point energy, bulk helium is a quantum fluid and does not solidify under standard pressure. Large helium clusters, which are liquid-like, have been produced and studied by Toennies and coworkers [142]. Recent experiments have provided evidence of... 

Northby J A 1987 Structure and binding of Lennard-Jones clusters 13< W < 147 J. Chem. Phys. 87 6166 Berry R S 1993 Potential surfaces and dynamics what clusters tell us Chem. Rev. 93 2379... 

Atomistically detailed models account for all atoms. The force field contains additive contributions specified in tenns of bond lengtlis, bond angles, torsional angles and possible crosstenns. It also includes non-bonded contributions as tire sum of van der Waals interactions, often described by Lennard-Jones potentials, and Coulomb interactions. Atomistic simulations are successfully used to predict tire transport properties of small molecules in glassy polymers, to calculate elastic moduli and to study plastic defonnation and local motion in quasi-static simulations [fy7, ( ]. The atomistic models are also useful to interiDret scattering data [fyl] and NMR measurements [70] in tenns of local order. 

The biasing function is applied to spread the range of configurations sampled such that the trajectory contains configurations appropriate to both the initial and final states. For the creation or deletion of atoms a softcore interaction function may be used. The standard Lennard-Jones (LJ) function used to model van der Waals interactions between atoms is strongly repulsive at short distances and contains a singularity at r = 0. This precludes two atoms from occupying the same position. A so-called softcore potential in contrast approaches a finite value at short distances. This removes the sin-... 

Fig. 3. Curves calculated using (8) for a series of increasing a values. The curves were calculated using tr = 0.6 nm and e = 0.4 kj/mol. Note that for a = 0.0 the normal 6-12 Lennard Jones potential energy function is recovered.

We consider a Lennard-Jones fluid consisting of atoms interacting with a Lennard-Jones potential given by... 

Figure 7-12. Plot of the van der Waals interaction energy according to the Lennard-Jones potential given in Eq. (27) (Sj, = 2.0 kcal mol , / (, = 1.5 A). The calculated collision diameter tr is 1.34 A.

If computing time does not play the major role that it did in the early 1980s, the [12-6] Lennard-Jones potential is substituted by a variety of alternatives meant to represent the real situation much better. MM3 and MM4 use a so-called Buckingham potential (Eq. (28)), where the repulsive part is substituted by an exponential function ... 

Additionally to and a third adjustable parameter a was introduced. For a-values between 14 and 15, a form very similar to the Lennard-Jones [12-6] potential can be obtained. The Buckingham type of potential has the disadvantage that it becomes attractive for very short interatomic distances. A Morse potential may also be used to model van der Waals interactions in a PEF, assuming that an adapted parameter set is available. 

Ihi.. same molecule but separated by at least three bonds (i.e. have a 1, h relationship where n > 4). In a simple force field the non-bonded term is usually modelled using a Coulomb piilential term for electrostatic interactions and a Lennard-Jones potential for van der IV.uls interactions. 

The Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential contains just two adjustable parameters the collision diameter a (the separation for which the energy is zero) and the well depth s. These parameters are graphically illustrated in Figure 4.34. The Lennard-Jones equation may also be expressed in terms of the separation at which the energy passes through a minimum, (also written f ). At this separation, the first derivative of the energy with respect to the internuclear distance is zero (i.e. dvjdr = 0), from which it can easily be shown that v = 2 / cr. We can thus also write the Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential function as follows ... 

The Lennard-Jones potential is characterised by an attractive part that varies as r ° and a repulsive part that varies as These two components are drawn in Figure 4.35. The r ° variation is of course the same power-law relationship foimd for the leading term in theoretical treatments of the dispersion energy such as the Drude model. There are no... 

The Lennard-Jones potential is constructed from a repulsive component (ar and an attractive nent (ar ). 

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