Hydrolysis of Al3+ from constrained molecular dynamics

We investigated the hydrolysis reactions of Al3+ in AlCl3 aqueous solution using the constrained molecular dynamics based on the Car-Parrinello molecular-dynamics method. By employing the proton-aluminum coordination number as a reaction coordinate in the constrained molecular dynamics the deprotonation as well as dehydration processes are successfully realized. From our free-energy difference of Delta G(0)similar or equal to 8.0 kcal mol(-1) the hydrolysis constant pK(a1) is roughly estimated as 5.8, comparable to the literature value of 5.07. We show that the free-energy difference for the hydrolysis of Al3+ in acidic conditions is at least 4 kcal mol(-1) higher than that in neutral condition, indicating that the hydrolysis reaction is inhibited by the presence of excess protons located around the hydrated ion, in agreement with the change of the predominant species by pH. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.