International Conference on Gas Hydrates (ICGH) (6th : 2008)

DYNAMIC LIFETIMES OF CAGELIKE WATER CLUSTERS IMMERSED IN LIQUID WATER AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR HYDRATE NUCLEATION STUDIES Guo, Guang-Jun; Zhang, Yi-Gang; Li, Meng; Wu, Chang-Hua

Abstract

Recently, by performing molecular dynamics simulations in the methane-water system, we have measured the static lifetimes of cagelike water clusters (CLWC) immersed in bulk liquid water, during which the member-water molecules of CLWCs are not allowed to exchange with their surrounding water molecules [J. Phys. Chem. C, 2007, 111, 2595]. In this study, we measure the dynamic lifetimes of CLWCs with permitting such water exchanges. It is found that the dynamic lifetimes of CLWCs are not less than the static lifetimes previously obtained, and their ratio increases with the lifetime values. The results strengthen that CLWCs are metastable structures in liquid water and the occurrence probability of long-lived CLWCs will increase if one uses the dynamic lifetimes instead of the static lifetimes. The implications of this study for hydrate nucleation are discussed.

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