Use of a dissociative potential to simulate hydration of Na+ and Cl- ions.

We have developed interatomic interaction parameters for Na+ and Cl- hydration using the dissociative water potential of Mahadevan and Garofalini [J. Phys. Chem. B 2007, 111, 8919] suitable for molecular dynamic simulations. Simulations were performed for small ion-water clusters Na(H2O)n+ (n=1-6) and Cl(H2O)m- (m=1-5), as well as dilute aqueous solutions of the ions in water, reproducing the structure and energies found in the literature. A simulation of an HCl molecule in water demonstrated the dissociation of the molecule. The Na+ and Cl- ion-ion interaction parameters also reproduce the energy and density of crystalline NaCl. A series of simulations of NaCl at progressively increasing temperatures from 300 to 1400 K produced solid densities varying by less than 1% from experiment.

Molecular dynamics simulations of beta-SiC using both fixed charge and variable charge models.

In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations have been performed using both fixed charge and variable charge models. In the fixed charge model, partial charges are introduced to Si and C atoms to model the charge transfer observed in first principles studies. The calculated phonon dispersions, elastic constants, and lattice constants are in good accuracy. Variable charge model is also used to obtain geometry and connectivity dependent atomic charges. Our results show that although the variable charge model may not be advantageous in the study of ordered structures, it is important in describing structural disorders such as vacancies.

Dissociative water potential for molecular dynamics simulations.

A new interatomic potential for dissociative water was developed for use in molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations use a multibody potential, with both pair and three-body terms, and the Wolf summation method for the long-range Coulomb interactions. A major feature in the potential is the change in the short-range O-H repulsive interaction as a function of temperature and/or pressure in order to reproduce the density-temperature curve between 273 K and 373 at 1 atm, as well as high-pressure data at various temperatures. Using only the change in this one parameter, the simulations also reproduce room-temperature properties of water, such as the structure, cohesive energy, diffusion constant, and vibrational spectrum, as well as the liquid-vapor coexistence curve. Although the water molecules could dissociate, no dissociation is observed at room temperature. However, behavior of the hydronium ion was studied by introduction of an extra H+ into a cluster of water molecules. Both Eigen and Zundel configurations, as well as more complex configurations, are observed in the migration of the hydronium.

Determining the radial pair-distribution function within intergranular amorphous films by numerical nanodiffraction.

We report on an alternative method to electron nanodiffraction and fluctuation microscopy for the determination of the reduced density function G(r) of amorphous areas with small cross-sections. This method is based on the numerical extraction of diffraction data from the complex-valued exit-face wave function as obtained by HRTEM focal series reconstruction or electron holography. Since it is thus possible to obtain "diffraction data" from rectangular areas of any aspect ratio, this method is particularly suited for intergranular glassy films of only 1-2 nm width, but lengths of several 100 nm. A critical comparison of this method with the already established nanodiffraction and fluctuation microscopy will be made.

Application of the Wolf damped Coulomb method to simulations of SiC.

A multibody interatomic potential is developed for bulk SiC using a modification of the Wolf et al. summation technique [D. Wolf, P. Keblinski, S. R. Phillpot, and J. Eggebrecht, J. Chem. Phys. 110, 8254 (1999)] for the electrostatic interaction. The technique is modified to account for the short-range nonpoint charge effect. The nonelectrostatic interaction is modeled by a simple Morse-stretch term. This potential is then applied to beta-SiC to calculate various bulk properties using molecular dynamics simulations. The simulated x-ray diffraction pattern, radial distribution functions, lattice constant, elastic constants, and defect energy agree well with experimental data.

Systematic study of the effect of disorder on nanotribology of self-assembled monolayers.

The adhesion and friction between pairs of ordered and disordered self-assembled monolayers on SiO2 are studied using molecular dynamics. The disorder is introduced by randomly removing chains from a well ordered crystalline substrate and by attaching chains to an amorphous substrate. The adhesion force between monolayers at a given separation increases monotonically with chain length at full coverage and with coverage for fixed chain length. Friction simulations are performed at shear velocities between 0.02-2 m/s at constant applied pressures between 200 and 600 MPa. Stick-slip motion is observed at full coverage but disappears with disorder. With random defects, the friction becomes insensitive to chain length, defect density, and substrate.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Nanolithography on a Conducting Oxide, Rb0.3MoO3.

The scanning tunneling microscope has been used to image and modify the surface of a conducting oxide (Rb(0.3)MoO(3))in ambient atmosphere. Individual octahedral MoO(6) units of the oxide can be imaged, and under certain conditions defects can be created in the surface that are stable in air. The ability to produce nanometer-sized structures on the surface of an oxide is demonstrated and discussed with reference to nanolithographic applications.