Molecular dynamics bulk phase

Small metal clusters are also of interest because of their importance in catalysis. Despite the fact that small clusters should consist of mostly surface atoms, measurement of the photon ionization threshold for Hg clusters suggest that a transition from van der Waals to metallic properties occurs in the range of 20-70 atoms per cluster [88] and near-bulk magnetic properties are expected for Ni, Pd, and Pt clusters of only 13 atoms [89] Theoretical calculations on Sin and other semiconductors predict that the stmcture reflects the bulk lattice for 1000 atoms but the bulk electronic wave functions are not obtained [90]. Bartell and co-workers [91] study beams of molecular clusters with electron dirfraction and molecular dynamics simulations and find new phases not observed in the bulk. Bulk models appear to be valid for their clusters of several thousand atoms (see Section IX-3). 

Bartell and co-workers have made significant progress by combining electron diffraction studies from beams of molecular clusters with molecular dynamics simulations [14, 51, 52]. Due to their small volumes, deep supercoolings can be attained in cluster beams however, the temperature is not easily controlled. The rapid nucleation that ensues can produce new phases not observed in the bulk [14]. Despite the concern about the appropriateness of the classic model for small clusters, its application appears to be valid in several cases [51]. 

The tests in the two previous paragraphs are often used because they are easy to perform. They are, however, limited due to their neglect of intermolecular interactions. Testing the effect of intennolecular interactions requires much more intensive simulations. These would be simulations of the bulk materials, which include many polymer strands and often periodic boundary conditions. Such a bulk system can then be simulated with molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo, or simulated annealing methods to examine the tendency to form crystalline phases. 

This article reviews progress in the field of atomistic simulation of liquid crystal systems. The first part of the article provides an introduction to molecular force fields and the main simulation methods commonly used for liquid crystal systems molecular mechanics, Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics. The usefulness of these three techniques is highlighted and some of the problems associated with the use of these methods for modelling liquid crystals are discussed. The main section of the article reviews some of the recent science that has arisen out of the use of these modelling techniques. The importance of the nematic mean field and its influence on molecular structure is discussed. The preferred ordering of liquid crystal molecules at surfaces is examined, along with the results from simulation studies of bilayers and bulk liquid crystal phases. The article also discusses some of the limitations of current work and points to likely developments over the next few years. 

Force fields split naturally into two main classes all-atom force fields and united atom force fields. In the former, each atom in the system is represented explicitly by potential functions. In the latter, hydrogens attached to heavy atoms (such as carbon) are removed. In their place single united (or extended) atom potentials are used. In this type of force field a CH2 group would appear as a single spherical atom. United atom sites have the advantage of greatly reducing the number of interaction sites in the molecule, but in certain cases can seriously limit the accuracy of the force field. United atom force fields are most usually required for the most computationally expensive tasks, such as the simulation of bulk liquid crystal phases via molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo methods (see Sect. 5.1). 

In contrast to the single molecule case, Monte Carlo methods tend to be rather less efficient than molecular dynamics in sampling phase space for a bulk fluid. Consequently, most of the bulk simulations of liquid crystals described in Sect. 5.1 use molecular dynamics simulation methods. 

The rapid rise in computer speed over recent years has led to atom-based simulations of liquid crystals becoming an important new area of research. Molecular mechanics and Monte Carlo studies of isolated liquid crystal molecules are now routine. However, care must be taken to model properly the influence of a nematic mean field if information about molecular structure in a mesophase is required. The current state-of-the-art consists of studies of (in the order of) 100 molecules in the bulk, in contact with a surface, or in a bilayer in contact with a solvent. Current simulation times can extend to around 10 ns and are sufficient to observe the growth of mesophases from an isotropic liquid. The results from a number of studies look very promising, and a wealth of structural and dynamic data now exists for bulk phases, monolayers and bilayers. Continued development of force fields for liquid crystals will be particularly important in the next few years, and particular emphasis must be placed on the development of all-atom force fields that are able to reproduce liquid phase densities for small molecules. Without these it will be difficult to obtain accurate phase transition temperatures. It will also be necessary to extend atomistic models to several thousand molecules to remove major system size effects which are present in all current work. This will be greatly facilitated by modern parallel simulation methods that allow molecular dynamics simulations to be carried out in parallel on multi-processor systems [115]. 

The increase in time resolution of advanced sorption uptake methods and the joint use of sorption and radio-spectroscopic techniques allow for a more detailed analysis of the so-called "non-Fickian" behaviour of sorbing species in the intracrystalline bulk phase [18,28,29,76]. Correspondingly, information on molecular dynamics has been obtained for n-butane and 2-but ne in NFI zeolites by means of the single step frequency response method and C n.m.r. line-shape analysis [29]. As can be seen from Figures 4 and 5, the ad- / desorption for both sorbates proceeds very quickly, but with a... 

Subject areas for the Series include solutions of electrolytes, liquid mixtures, chemical equilibria in solution, acid-base equilibria, vapour-liquid equilibria, liquid-liquid equilibria, solid-liquid equilibria, equilibria in analytical chemistry, dissolution of gases in liquids, dissolution and precipitation, solubility in cryogenic solvents, molten salt systems, solubility measurement techniques, solid solutions, reactions within the solid phase, ion transport reactions away from the interface (i.e. in homogeneous, bulk systems), liquid crystalline systems, solutions of macrocyclic compounds (including macrocyclic electrolytes), polymer systems, molecular dynamic simulations, structural chemistry of liquids and solutions, predictive techniques for properties of solutions, complex and multi-component solutions applications, of solution chemistry to materials and metallurgy (oxide solutions, alloys, mattes etc.), medical aspects of solubility, and environmental issues involving solution phenomena and homogeneous component phenomena. 

The principal tools have been density functional theory and computer simulation, especially grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics [17-19]. Typical phase diagrams for a simple Lennard-Jones fluid and for a binary mixture of Lennard-Jones fluids confined within cylindrical pores of various diameters are shown in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively. Also shown in Fig. 10 is the vapor-liquid phase diagram for the bulk fluid (i.e., a pore of infinite radius). In these examples, the walls are inert and exert only weak forces on the molecules, which themselves interact weakly. Nevertheless,... 

It is known that first principles molecular dynamics may overcome the limitations related to the use of an intermolecular interaction model. However, it is not clear that the results for the structure of hydrogen bonding liquids predicted by first principles molecular dynamics simulations are necessarily in better agreement with experiment than those relying on classical simulations, and recent first principles molecular dynamics simulations of liquid water indicated that the results are dependent on the choice of different approximations for the exchange-correlation functional [50], Cluster calculations are an interesting alternative, although surface effects can be important and extrapolation to bulk phase remains a controversial issue. 

Three-Dimensional Model. On the other hand, if the interfacial layer is thick enough compared to the molecular size of SRIOI and if SRIOI molecules adsorbed on the interface are weakly oriented, the rotational motions of SRIOI take place in three dimensions, similar to those in a bulk phase. If this is the case, the contribution of the fluorescence with the excited dipole moment of SR 101 directed along the z-axis cannot be neglected, so that the time profile of the total fluorescence intensity must be proportional to / (0 + 2/i(t). Thus, fluorescence dynamic anisotropy is given by Equation (15), as is well known for that in a macroscopically isotropic system [10,13] ... 

In conclusion, these gas-phase measurements provide new elues to the role of solvation in ion-moleeule reaetions. For the first time, it is possible to study intrinsie reactivities and the extent to which the properties of gas-phase ion-moleeule reaetions relate to those of the eorresponding reactions in solution. It is clear, however, that gas-phase solvated-ion/moleeule reaetions in which solvent moleeules are transferred into the intermediate elusters by the nucleophile cannot be exaet duplieates of solvated-ion/ molecule reactions in solution in which solvated reactants exchange solvent molecules with the surrounding bulk solvent [743]. For a selection of more recent experimental [772] and theoretical studies of Sn2 reactions in gas phase and solution by classical trajectory simulations [773], molecular dynamics simulations [774, 775], ab initio molecular orbital calculations [776, 777], and density functional theory calculations [778, 779], see the references given. For studies of reactions other than Sn2 ion-molecule processes in the gas phase and in solution, see reviews [780, 781]. 

At even lower temperatures, some unusual properties of matter are displayed. Consequently, new experimental and theoretical methods are being created to explore and describe chemistry in these regimes. In order to account for zero-point energy effects and tunneling in simulations, Voth and coworkers developed a quantum molecular dynamics method that they applied to dynamics in solid hydrogen. In liquid helium, superfluidity is displayed in He below its lambda point phase transition at 2.17 K. In the superfluid state, helium s thermal conductivity dramatically increases to 1000 times that of copper, and its bulk viscosity drops effectively to zero. Apkarian and coworkers have recently demonstrated the disappearance of viscosity in superfluid helium on a molecular scale by monitoring the damped oscillations of a 10 A bubble as a function of temperature. These unique properties make superfluid helium an interesting host for chemical dynamics. 

S. Hauptmann, T. Mosell, S. Reiling and J. Brickmann, Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Bulk Phases of 4-cyano-4 -n-pentyloxy-biphenyl, Chem. Phys. 208 (1996) 57. 

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