Molecular dissociation and proton transfer in aqueous methane solution under an electric field

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081707%3A_____%2F21%3A00554408" target="_blank" >RIV/68081707:_____/21:00554408 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/CP/D1CP04202E" target="_blank" >https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/CP/D1CP04202E</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1cp04202e" target="_blank" >10.1039/d1cp04202e</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Molecular dissociation and proton transfer in aqueous methane solution under an electric field

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Methane-water mixtures are ubiquitous in our solar system and they have been the subject of a wide variety of experimental, theoretical, and computational studies aimed at understanding their behaviour under disparate thermodynamic scenarios, up to extreme planetary ice conditions of pressures and temperatures [Lee and Scandolo, Nat. Commun., 2011, 2, 185]. Although it is well known that electric fields, by interacting with condensed matter, can produce a range of catalytic effects which can be similar to those observed when material systems are pressurised, to the best of our knowledge, no quantum-based computational investigations of methane-water mixtures under an electric field have been reported so far. Here we present a study relying upon state-of-the-art ab initio molecular dynamics simulations where a liquid aqueous methane solution is exposed to strong oriented static and homogeneous electric fields. It turns out that a series of field-induced effects on the dipoles, polarisation, and the electronic structure of both methane and water molecules are recorded. Moreover, upon increasing the field strength, increasing fractions of water molecules are not only re-oriented towards the field direction, but are also dissociated by the field, leading to the release of oxonium and hydroxyde ions in the mixture. However, in contrast to what is observed upon pressurisation (similar to 50 GPa), where the presence of the water counterions triggers methane ionisation and other reactions, methane molecules preserve their integrity up to the strongest field explored (i.e., 0.50 V angstrom(-1)). Interestingly, neither the field-induced molecular dissociation of neat water (i.e., 0.30 V angstrom(-1)) nor the proton conductivity typical of pure aqueous samples at these field regimes (i.e., 1.3 S cm(-1)) are affected by the presence of hydrophobic interactions, at least in a methane-water mixture containing a molar fraction of 40% methane.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Molecular dissociation and proton transfer in aqueous methane solution under an electric field

Popis výsledku anglicky

Methane-water mixtures are ubiquitous in our solar system and they have been the subject of a wide variety of experimental, theoretical, and computational studies aimed at understanding their behaviour under disparate thermodynamic scenarios, up to extreme planetary ice conditions of pressures and temperatures [Lee and Scandolo, Nat. Commun., 2011, 2, 185]. Although it is well known that electric fields, by interacting with condensed matter, can produce a range of catalytic effects which can be similar to those observed when material systems are pressurised, to the best of our knowledge, no quantum-based computational investigations of methane-water mixtures under an electric field have been reported so far. Here we present a study relying upon state-of-the-art ab initio molecular dynamics simulations where a liquid aqueous methane solution is exposed to strong oriented static and homogeneous electric fields. It turns out that a series of field-induced effects on the dipoles, polarisation, and the electronic structure of both methane and water molecules are recorded. Moreover, upon increasing the field strength, increasing fractions of water molecules are not only re-oriented towards the field direction, but are also dissociated by the field, leading to the release of oxonium and hydroxyde ions in the mixture. However, in contrast to what is observed upon pressurisation (similar to 50 GPa), where the presence of the water counterions triggers methane ionisation and other reactions, methane molecules preserve their integrity up to the strongest field explored (i.e., 0.50 V angstrom(-1)). Interestingly, neither the field-induced molecular dissociation of neat water (i.e., 0.30 V angstrom(-1)) nor the proton conductivity typical of pure aqueous samples at these field regimes (i.e., 1.3 S cm(-1)) are affected by the presence of hydrophobic interactions, at least in a methane-water mixture containing a molar fraction of 40% methane.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10403 - Physical chemistry

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2021

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

ISSN

1463-9076

e-ISSN

1463-9084

Svazek periodika

23

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

45

Stát vydavatele periodika

GB - Spojené království Velké Británie a Severního Irska

Počet stran výsledku

9

Strana od-do

25649-25657

Kód UT WoS článku

000718638100001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85120467741