Molecular dynamics simulations of the amino acid-ZnO (10-10) interface: A comparison between density functional theory and density functional tight binding results
- Bremen Centre for Computational Materials Science, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany)
We investigate the adsorption behavior of four different amino acids (glutamine, glutamate, serine, cysteine) on the zinc oxide (101{sup ¯}0) surface, comparing the geometry and energy associated with a number of different adsorption configurations. In doing this, we highlight the benefits and limits of using density-functional tight-binding (DFTB) with respect to standard density functional theory (DFT). The DFTB method is found to reliably reproduce the DFT adsorption geometries. Analysis of the adsorption configurations emphasizes the fundamental role of the first hydration layer in mediating the interactions between the amino acids and the surface. Direct surface-molecule bonds are found to form predominantly via the carboxylate groups of the studied amino acids. No surface-mediated chemical reactions are observed, with the notable exception of a proton transfer from the thiol group of cysteine to a hydroxyl group of the surface hydration layer. The adsorption energies are found to be dominated both by the formation of direct or indirect surface-molecule hydrogen bonds, but also by the rearrangement of the hydrogen-bond network in surface proximity in a non-intuitive way. Energetic comparisons between DFTB and DFT are made difficult on one side by the long time necessary to achieve convergence of potential energy values in MD simulations and on the other side by the necessity of including higher-order corrections to DFTB to obtain a good description of the hydrogen bond energetics. Overall, our results suggest that DFTB is a good reference method to set the correct chemical states and the initial geometries of hybrid biomolecule/ZnO systems to be simulated with non-reactive force fields.
- OSTI ID:
- 22420076
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 140, Issue 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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