Molecular Force Field Development for Aqueous Electrolytes: 2. Polarizable Models Incorporating Crystalline Chemical Potential and Their Accurate Simulations of Halite, Hydrohalite, Aqueous Solutions of NaCl, and Solubility

The current state-of-the-art force fields (FFs) for Na+ and Cl−ions are not capable of simultaneously predicting the thermodynamic properties of the aqueous solution and the crystalline phase. This is primarily due to an oversimplification of the interaction models used but partially also due to the insufficient parametrization of the FFs. We have devised a straightforward and simple parametrization procedure for determining the ion−ion interaction parameters in complex molecular models of NaCl electrolytes which involves fitting the density, lattice energy, and chemical potential of crystalline NaCl at ambient conditions. Starting from the AH/BK3 and MAH/BK3 FFs, the parametrization approach is employed to develop a complex and accurate polarizable molecular model for the NaCl electrolyte by parametrizing the ion−ion interactions. The performance of the refined polarizable NaCl FF is assessed by evaluating the different thermodynamic and mechanical properties of the crystal, density of crystalline and molten NaCl, along with the melting temperature, properties of aqueous solutions, and the structure and stability of hydrohalite. The simulation results confirm the superiority of the refined FF in comparison with the existing state-of-the-art FFs to accurately predict a wide range of system properties in different NaCl phases, including NaCl aqueous solubility. The refined FF may find applications in the accurate simulations of NaCl electrolytes including inhomogeneous environment, phase equilibria and interfaces, and metastable states. Finally, the parametrization strategy is robust and general and can be used to devise molecular models for other electrolytes.