Proton transfer and the mobilities of the H⁺ and OH⁻ ions from studies of a dissociating model for water

Hydrogen (H⁺) and hydroxide (OH⁻) ions in aqueous solution have anomalously large diffusion coefficients, and the mobility of the H⁺ ion is nearly twice that of the OH⁻ ion. We describe molecular dynamics simulations of a dissociating model for liquid water based on scaling the interatomic potential for water developed by Ojamäe-Shavitt-Singer from ab initio studies at the MP2 level. We use the scaled model to study proton transfer that occurs in the transport of hydrogen and hydroxide ions in acidic and basic solutions containing 215 water molecules. The model supports the Eigen-Zundel-Eigen mechanism of proton transfer in acidic solutions and the transient hyper-coordination of the hydroxide ion in weakly basic solutions at room temperature. The free energy barriers for proton transport are low indicating significant proton delocalization accompanying proton transfer in acidic and basic solutions. The reorientation dynamics of the hydroxide ion suggests changes in the proportions of hyper-coordinated species with temperature. The mobilities of the hydrogen and hydroxide ions and their temperature dependence between 0 and 50 °C are in excellent agreement with experiment and the reasons for the large difference in the mobilities of the two ions are discussed. The model and methods described provide a novel approach to studies of liquid water, proton transfer, and acid-base reactions in aqueous solutions, channels, and interfaces.