The simulation of a green room-temperature ternary solution of water, methanol and 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride by all-atom Monte Carlo and DFT computational approaches

Abstract

A highly dense ternary solution of water, methanol and 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride [emim][Cl] was investigated by a Monte Carlo (MC) program written in C language, Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Atoms-In-Molecules (AIM) theory. The all-atom approach in MC calculations of a ternary solution, the use of nonzero LJ parameters for all hydrogen atoms in simulation box and the creation of a new strategy for filling simulation box with many molecules were adopted in this research to yield a comprehensive, accurate and different work. The radial distribution function, the molar heat capacities in constant volume and pressure, the thermal expansivity, and the isothermal compressibility of the ternary system were calculated. The chemical potentials were calculated at different temperatures through Widom insertion method and the behaviors of both ideal and excess parts of chemical potentials were analyzed versus temperature. The value of electric permittivity of solution, the change of number of methanol and water molecules and the replacement of chloride anion with iodide in ionic liquid were also explored through separate simulations. The solvation structure and coordination number were investigated for various systems. The optimized sites for water and methanol around [emim]+ recognized by DFT and the HOMO and LUMO isosurfaces were discussed. Also, the hydrogen bonds between components of ternary solution were determined by AIM theory. It was shown that the results of quantum mechanics calculations confirm those of MC simulations.