Dipolar correlations in liquid water.

Abstract

We present an analysis of the dipolar correlations in water as a function of temperature and density and in the presence of simple ionic solutes, carried out using molecular dynamics simulations and empirical potentials. We show that the dipole-dipole correlation function of the liquid exhibits sizable oscillations over nanodomains of about 1.5 nm radius, with several isosbestic points as a function of temperature; the size of the nanodomains is nearly independent on temperature and density, between 240 and 400K and 0.9 and 1.3 g/cm(3), but it is substantially affected by the presence of solvated ions. In the same range of thermodynamic conditions, the decay time (τ) of the system dipole moment varies by a factor of about 30 and 1.5, as a function of temperature and density, respectively. At 300 K, we observed a maximum in τ as a function of density, and a corresponding shallow maximum in the tetrahedral order parameter, in a range where the diffusion coefficient, the pressure and the dielectric constant increase monotonically.