Comparison of charged sheets and corrected 3D Ewald calculations of long-range forces in slab geometry electrolyte systems with solvent molecules

Abstract
Two methods of calculating long-range intermolecular potentials are compared for an approximately 3 M aqueous electrolyte solution confined between two charged surfaces. We investigate the ionic density profiles using the charged-sheets method and the corrected three-dimensional (3D) Ewald method at two different system sizes and also compare the Coulomb forces directly. The corrected 3D Ewald method is recommended for the calculation of long-range potentials in systems of this nature because it is less system size dependent than the charged-sheets method and the resultant forces are more consistent with periodic boundaries. However, the charged-sheets method for estimating long-range potentials in Coulombic systems may be useful for certain applications, and the corrected 3D Ewald method also shows some system size dependence.

This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit: