title: Diffusion coefficient of ionic solvation shell molecules.
abstract: It is shown that, for a tightly bound ion-solvation shell complex, the mean square displacement for solvation molecules is characterized by a long lasting transitory. This initial portion is related to the rotational relaxation of the complex and can reach up to several hundred picoseconds for a representative example such as the Mg(2+) ion in water. As the diffusion coefficient is usually fitted using much shorter time spans, unnoticed overestimations are possible. It is argued that, instead of computing the aforementioned diffusion coefficient from the mean square displacement, it should be defined taking as a basic guideline the ratio between the rotational relaxation time of the complex and the lifetime within the first solvation shell.
authors.affiliation: Department de Física i Enginyeria Nuclear, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Campus Nord B4-B5, Barcelona 08034, Spain. marco.masia@upc.edu
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masia
authors.forename: Rossend
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rey