Activation Energies and Beyond.

Recent advances in the calculation and interpretation of the activation energy for a dynamical process are described. Specifically, new approaches that apply the fluctuation theory of statistical mechanics to dynamics enable the direct determination of the activation energy for an arbitrary dynamical time scale from simulations at a single temperature. This opens up significant new possibilities for understanding activated processes in cases where a traditional Arrhenius analysis is not possible. The methods also enable a rigorous decomposition of the activation energy into contributions associated with the different interactions and motions present in the system. These components can be understood in the context of Tolman's interpretation of the activation energy. Specifically, they provide insight into how energy can be most effectively deposited to accelerate the dynamics of interest, promising important new mechanistic information for a broad range of chemical processes. The general approach can be extended beyond activation energies to the examination of non-Arrhenius behavior as well as the changes in dynamical time scales with respect to other thermodynamic variables such as pressure.

Expanding the calculation of activation volumes: Self-diffusion in liquid water.

A general method for calculating the dependence of dynamical time scales on macroscopic thermodynamic variables from a single set of simulations is presented. The approach is applied to the pressure dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of liquid water as a particularly useful illustration. It is shown how the activation volume associated with diffusion can be obtained directly from simulations at a single pressure, avoiding approximations that are typically invoked.

Removing the barrier to the calculation of activation energies: Diffusion coefficients and reorientation times in liquid water.

General approaches for directly calculating the temperature dependence of dynamical quantities from simulations at a single temperature are presented. The method is demonstrated for self-diffusion and OH reorientation in liquid water. For quantities which possess an activation energy, e.g., the diffusion coefficient and the reorientation time, the results from the direct calculation are in excellent agreement with those obtained from an Arrhenius plot. However, additional information is obtained, including the decomposition of the contributions to the activation energy. These results are discussed along with prospects for additional applications of the direct approach.

A "Universal" Spectroscopic Map for the OH Stretching Mode in Alcohols.

Empirical maps are presented for the OH stretching vibrations in neat alcohols in which the relevant spectroscopic quantities are expressed in terms of the electric field exerted on the hydrogen atom by the surrounding liquid. It is found, by examination of the four lowest linear alcohols, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, and n-butanol, that a single map can be used for alcohols with different alkyl groups. This "universal" map is in very good agreement with maps optimized for the individual alcohols but differs from those previously developed for water. This suggests that one map can be used for all alcohols, perhaps even those not examined in the present study. The universal map gives IR lineshapes in good agreement with measured spectra for isotopically dilute methanol and ethanol, while the two-dimensional IR photon echo spectra give results that differ from experiments. The role of non-Condon effects, reorientation dynamics, hydrogen bonding, and spectral diffusion is discussed.

Removing the barrier to the calculation of activation energies.

Approaches for directly calculating the activation energy for a chemical reaction from a simulation at a single temperature are explored with applications to both classical and quantum systems. The activation energy is obtained from a time correlation function that can be evaluated from the same molecular dynamics trajectories or quantum dynamics used to evaluate the rate constant itself and thus requires essentially no extra computational work.

Reorientation of Isomeric Butanols: The Multiple Effects of Steric Bulk Arrangement on Hydrogen-Bond Dynamics.

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate OH reorientation in the four isomeric butanols in their bulk liquid state to examine the influence of the arrangement of the steric bulk on the alcohol reorientational and hydrogen-bond (H-bond) dynamics. The results are interpreted within the extended jump model in which the OH reorientation is decomposed into contributions due to "jumps" between H-bond partners and "frame" reorientation of the intact H-bonded pair. Reorientation is fastest in iso-butanol and slowest in tert-butanol, while sec- and n-butanol have similar reorientation times. This latter result is a fortuitous cancellation between the jump and frame reorientation in the two alcohols. The extended jump model is shown to provide a quantitative description of the OH reorientation times. A detailed analysis of the jump times shows that a combination of entropic, enthalpic, and dynamical factors, including transition state recrossing effects, all play a role. A simple model based on the liquid structure is proposed to estimate the energetic and entropic contributions to the jump time. This represents the groundwork for a predictive model of OH reorientation in alcohols, but additional studies are required to better understand the frame reorientation and transition state recrossing effects.