Microscopic Behaviors of Tri-n-Butyl Phosphate, n-Dodecane and Their Mixtures at Air/Liquid and Liquid/Liquid Interfaces: An AMBER Polarizable Force Field Study
- Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
In solvent extraction processes for recovering metal ions from used nuclear fuel, as well as other industrial applications, a better understanding of the metal complex phase transfer phenomenon would greatly aid ligand design and process optimization. We have approached this challenge by utilizing classical molecular dynamics simulations technique to gain visual appreciation of the vapor/liquid and liquid/liquid interface between tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and n-dodecane with air and water. In this study, we successfully reparameterized polarizable force fields for TBP and n-dodecane that accurately reproduced several of their thermophysical properties such as: density, heat of vaporization, and dipole moment. Our models were able to predict the surface and interfacial tension of different systems when compared to experimental results also performed by us. Through this study, we gained numerous atomistic understanding of the behaviors of TBP and n-dodecane at the interface against air and water, useful in further computational studies of such systems. Lastly, our studies indicate that the initial configuration of a simulation may have a large effect on the final result.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1468976
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-137519
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry, Vol. 123, Issue 3; ISSN 1520-6106
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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