A Molecular Dynamics Study of Aqueous Solutions. VIII. Improved Simulation and Structural Properties of a NH4Cl Solution

Abstract

A molecular dynamics simulation of an aqueous ammonium chloride solution has been carried out at a mass density of 1.027 g/cm3, corresponding to a 2.2 m solution, and at a temperature of T = 301 K. The effective pair potentials are based on the ST2 model of water, a rigid tetra­hedral four point charge model of NH4 + and a single point charge model of Cl-. The calculated structural properties of this solution are discussed and compared with those obtained for alkali halide solutions. The first hydration shell of the ammonium ion contains on the average eight water molecules, it has a more complex structure than the hydration shells of cations with spherical symmetry. The static orientational order of water dipole moments indicate a structure breaking ability of NH4 +.