Spatial hydration maps and dynamics of naphthalene in ambient and supercritical water

The hydration structures and dynamics of naphthalene in aqueous solution are examined using molecular-dynamics simulations. The simulations are performed at several state points along the coexistence curve of water up to the critical point, and above the critical point with the density fixed at 0.3 g/cm(3). Spatial maps of local atomic pair-density are presented which show a detailed picture of the hydration shell around a bicyclic aromatic structure. The self-diffusion coefficient of naphthalene is also calculated. It is shown that water molecules tend to form pi-type complexes with the two aromatic regions of naphthalene, where water acts as the H-bond donor. At ambient conditions, the hydration shell of naphthalene is comprised, on average, of about 39 water molecules. Within this shell, two water molecules can be identified as pi-coordinating, forming close to one H-bond to the aromatic rings. With increasing temperature, the hydration of naphthalene changes dramatically, leading to the disappearance of the pi-coordination near the critical point. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.