Surface charge molecular dynamics

An important aspect of the study of water under electrochemical conditions is that one is able to continuously modify the charge on the metal surface and thus apply a well-defined external electric field, which can have a dramatic effect on adsorption and on chemical reactions. Here we briefly discuss the effect of the external electric field on the properties of water at the solution/metal interface obtained from molecular dynamics computer simulations. A general discussion of the theoretical and experi-... 

The calculations of the stmcture of water between charged flat walls show that the density profile becomes asymmetric and that there is enhanced structuring. This enhanced structuring is intimately connected with the possibility of a continuous phase transition in quasi two-dimensional systems, a subject of recent intense interest. ° Most of the molecular dynamics computer simulations on the effects of an external field have been carried out in an attempt to clarify the field-induced restructuring of water molecules at the metal surface, for which recent experimental data have become available. ... 

Most of the work published to date on molecular dynamic studies of interfacial electron transfer involves the simplified assumption of a two-state model for the electronic degrees of freedom. Consider an ion of charge qj near a solution/metal interface. As a result of electron transfer between the ion and the metal surface, the charge of the ion changes to qj. We will consider both forward and backward electron transfer and assume that = <7 - = -1, so that the forward reaction corresponds to a single electron transfer from the metal to the ion, for example + e ... 

A recent theoretical study has nicely addressed the question of mechanism on the silicon surface. Minary and Tuckerman carried out an ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) study of the [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction on Si(100)-2 x 1 [251]. Because the previously reported ab initio DFT models were static , these were not able to address in detail the mechanisms by which the [4 + 2] product was formed. The results of the MD study indicate that rather than being concerted, the dominant mechanism is a stepwise zwitterionic process in which an initial nucleophilic attack of one of the C=C bonds by the down atom of the dimer leads to a carbocation. This carbocation exists for up to 1-2 ps, stabilized by resonance, and depending on which positively charged carbon atom reacts with which Si surface atom, can form... 

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