title: Collecting high-order interactions in an effective pairwise intermolecular potential using the hydrated ion concept: the hydration of Cf³⁺.
abstract: This work proposes a new methodology to build interaction potentials between a highly charged metal cation and water molecules. These potentials, which can be used in classical computer simulations, have been fitted to reproduce quantum mechanical interaction energies (MP2 and BP86) for a wide range of [M(H2O)n](m+)(H2O)ℓ clusters (n going from 6 to 10 and ℓ from 0 to 18). A flexible and polarizable water shell model (Mobile Charge Density of Harmonic Oscillator) has been coupled to the cation-water potential. The simultaneous consideration of poly-hydrated clusters and the polarizability of the interacting particles allows the inclusion of the most important many-body effects in the new polarizable potential. Applications have been centered on the californium, Cf(III) the heaviest actinoid experimentally studied in solution. Two different strategies to select a set of about 2000 structures which are used for the potential building were checked. Monte Carlo simulations of Cf(III)+500 H2O for three of the intermolecular potentials predict an aquaion structure with coordination number close to 8 and average R(Cf-O) in the range 2.43-2.48 Å, whereas the fourth one is closer to 9 with R(Cf-O) = 2.54 Å. Simulated EXAFS spectra derived from the structural Monte Carlo distribution compares fairly well with the available experimental spectrum for the simulations bearing 8 water molecules. An angular distribution similar to that of a square antiprism is found for the octa-coordination.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Química Física, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galbis
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, UNAM, Apartado Postal 48-3, 62251 Cuernavaca, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernández-Cobos
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Química Física, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Pappalardo
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Química Física, Universidad de Sevilla, 41012 Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sánchez Marcos