Determination of the structure and stability of water clusters using temperature dependent techniques

The lowest energy equilibrium structure of various water clusters, (H2O)(n), where n = 2-9, was determined using simulated annealing techniques. The interparticle potential was represented by the TIP4P potential and the thermodynamic stability of the systems was computed using a method based on re-scaling the interparticle potential in order to solve the appropriate equations. The structures obtained are similar to the ones reported by other researchers using first principle techniques. All the systems considered are thermodynamically stable in a temperature range when the cluster is in a solid-like form. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.