Comment on "Binding Debye-Hückel theory for associative electrolyte solutions" [J. Chem. Phys. 159, 154503 (2023)

Abstract

It is argued that the Binding Debye-Hückel (BiDH) model proposed by Naseri Boroujeni et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 159, 154503 (2023)] might not be appropriate for the description of Monte Carlo simulation data obtained for primitive model electrolytes. The first reason is that the original Debye-Hückel (DH) theory is of low accuracy for describing deviations from ideality in concentrated solutions of strong salts. The DH framework is thus a poor basis for building a model including association. The second reason is that the mean-spherical approximation, without assumption of association, apparently predicts Monte Carlo (MC) data for primitive electrolytes better than BiDH. Thus, the BiDH model seems to be simply a way of compensating for the deficiencies of DH theory by assuming association.