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Monte Carlo and HNC/MSA results

for an asymmetrical electrolyte
in an external electrical field of
spherical geometry
a b
Léo Degrève & Marcelo Lozada-Cassou
a
Departamento de Química , Faculdade de Filosofia,
Ciencias e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo , 14040-901,
Ribeirâo Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
b
Departamento de Física , Universidad Autónoma
Metropolitana-Iztapalapa , Apartado Postal 55-534, 09340,
México D.F., México
Published online: 23 Aug 2006.

To cite this article: Léo Degrève & Marcelo Lozada-Cassou (1995) Monte Carlo and HNC/MSA
results for an asymmetrical electrolyte in an external electrical field of spherical geometry,
Molecular Physics: An International Journal at the Interface Between Chemistry and Physics,
86:4, 759-768, DOI: 10.1080/00268979500102351

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00268979500102351

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 MOLECULARPHYSICS, 1995, VOL. 86, No. 4, 759-768

Monte Carlo and H N C / M S A results for an asymmetrical electrolyte

in an external electrical field of spherical geometry

By LIfO DEGRI~VE
Departamento de Quimica, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras,
Universidade de Sao Paulo,
14040-901 Ribeir$o Preto, S~o Paulo, Brazil

and M A R C E L O LOZADA-CASSOU
Downloaded by [TIB & Universitaetsbibliothek] at 12:21 03 January 2015

Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Aut6noma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa,

Apartado Postal 55-534, 09340 M6xico D.F., M6xico

(Received 2 May 1995," accepted 14 June 1995)

Results are reported from Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for a model
asymmetrical electrolyte, in an external electrical field of spherical geometry.
Calculations were made for various 2:1 and 1:2 electrolyte concentrations and
field parameters. The hypernetted chain/mean spherical equation (HNC/MSA)
is solved for 1:2 and 2:1 salts. The MC results are compared with those from
HNC/MSA, the fifth version of the modified Poisson-Boltzmann (MPB5), and
Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) theories. Good overall agreement between HNC/MSA
and MPB5 results and the MC data is found. On the other hand, the widely
used PB theory is found to have important quantitative and qualitative
differences from the MC results.

1. Introduction
The inhomogeneous fluids are one of the important fields of study in theoretical
statistical mechanics. In an inhomogeneous fluid its local equilibrium concentration
is a function of the spatial coordinates. From a broad point of view, even a
homogeneous simple fluid can be regarded as an inhomogeneous fluid, subject to
the influence of the field produced by one of its particles. Perhaps a more accepted
idea of an inhomogeneous fluid is a fluid next to a planar wall, for example a hard
sphere fluid next to a hard wall. However, a classical inhomogeneous fluid like this
can be thought of as a two-species homogeneous mixture, one species of hard spheres,
at a finite concentration, and one species of hard plates, at infinite dilution [1-3].
This kind of system has been studied successfully through the homogeneous
Ornstein-Zernike equation [1,2, 4-7]. With this approach other geometries of the
external field have been studied in the past, i.e., cylindrical [8, 9] and spherical [10]
geometries. The structure of a liquid in solid-liquid or liquid-liquid interfaces
determines the macroscopic properties of a large number of physical systems. The
tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope or cell batteries are clear examples. The liquid
around a colloidal particle, in a homogeneous, very dilute colloidal dispersion, can
also be regarded as an inhomogeneous fluid. If the external field is an electrical field,
as in, for example, a charged colloidal particle, and the liquid is charged, as in the
case of an electrolyte solution, the inhomogeneous liquid structure next to the field
is called the electrical double layer (EDL). Infinitely dilute lyophobic disPersions are
an interesting practical application of the above approach [1-3, 8, 10] to an

0026-8976/95 $10.00 9 1995 Taylor & Francis Ltd

 760 L. Degr6ve and M. Lozada-Cassou

inhomogeneous fluid of spherical geometry. The EDL is particularly interesting

because long range interaction forces are involved.
In colloidal chemical physics the Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PB) has been
used to study infinitely dilute lyophobic colloidal dispersions [11-13]. A shortcoming
of the PB equation is the neglect of the ionic size. The hypernetted chain/mean
spherical integral equation (HNC/MSA) and the fifth version of the modified
Poisson Boltzmann differential equation (MPB5) have been applied successfully to
liquids subjected to external fields of various geometries. In both theories the ionic
size is taken into account.
In an earlier paper [14] we have compared HNC/MSA, MPB5 and PB results
for 1:1 and 2:2 electrolytes, next to an external field of spherical geometry, with
Downloaded by [TIB & Universitaetsbibliothek] at 12:21 03 January 2015

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Computer simulations of thermodynamic systems

provide a very good test of liquid theories. In spite of the importance of spherical
external fields, in chemical physics systems there are very few liquid theories
[10, 15, 16] and computer simulation studies [14, 17, 18] for this geometry. The
agreement of H N C / M S A and MPB5 is very good. On the other hand, PB theory is
fairly satisfactory for 1:1 salts, but unsatisfactory for 2:2 salts.
In this paper we have generalized our HNC/MSA, PB and MC computer
programs, for fluids subjected to external fields of spherical geometry, to allow for
ions of unequal charge. It is of interest to compare the HNC/MSA, MPB5 and PB
results for asymmetric salts with MC simulations for I: 2 and 2:1 electrolytes. These
results are important not only because 1:2 and 2:1 salts are of interest in practical
application, but also because we expect the widely used PB theory to show both
good and poor agreement with the MC data, depending upon whether the counterion
is monovalent or divalent. This is to be expected since we expect the charge of the
counterion to dominate in the EDL.
In this work, we report MC simulations for 1:2 and 2:1 electrolytes next to an
external field of spherical geometry. We solve the H N C / M S A integral equation [103
for this system and these results and those from the PB and MPB5 [16] are compared
with our MC data. In section 2 we include a short description of the H N C / M S A
theory and of the MC scheme as applied to this problem. In section 3 we present
and discuss our results and in section 4 we give some conclusions.

2. Theory
2.1. The hypernetted chain~mean spherical equation
In a previous paper [10], the H N C / M S A integral equation was derived for the
distribution of a restricted primitive model (RPM) electrolyte next to an external
electrical field of spherical geometry. Thus, the model is a liquid of small, charged
hard spheres of diameter a, next to a hard, charged spherical macroparticle of radius
R. An interesting way of expressing the H N C / M S A equation for this model is

gj(r) = exp {-flzje~(r) + flJj(,')}, (1)

where gj(r) is the radial distribution function (RDF) of the ions of species j, at radial
distance r from the centre of the macroparticle, ~(r) is the mean electrostatic potential
at the radial distance 1"from the centre of the macroparticle, fi = 1/k I', zj is the valence
of an ion of species j, e is the electronic charge, and Jr(r) has the short range
 MC and HNC/MSA of electrolyte 761

interaction contributions to total ion macroparticle potential of mean force. For this
geometry, in terms of the RDF, ~(r) is given by

~(r) = --4~ef f p~(t)[ - ~] dt. (2)

The short range potential Jj(r) is given by

where
flJj(r) =
fo p~(t)Ks(r, t) dt+ zj
fo pa(OKd(r, t) dt, (3)

ps(t) = ~ pmhm(O (4)

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m=l
and
pa(t) = ~f~ ZmPmhm(t). (5)
m=l

In equations (4) and (5), n is the total number of ionic species in the solution, and
hm(t)is the total correction function, i.e.,
hm(t) = g,,(r) - 1. (6)
The kernels Ks(r, t) and Ka(r, t) are functions of the mean-spherical approximation
ion-ion direct correlation function, i.e.,

K~(r, t) = -2~t
- ~r+t Cs(S) ds (7)
r ')lr-d
and
Kd(r, t) =
2~t f r +t
- - Csdr(S) ds. (8)
r dlr-tl
The mean-spherical ion ion direct correlation function for a bulk RPM electrolyte is

c~m(s) = fl ZlzmeZ--+ cMSa(s~

,+ ZjZ,,c~Sa(s). (9)
s

Closed expressions for the integrals of equations (7) and (8) are given in [10].
If the ionic diameter is zero, then cs(s ) and c~r(s) are zero and, hence, J~(r) is zero.
Therefore, in this case, the H N C / M S A equation given by equation (1) reduces to
gj(r) = exp { - flzje~(r)}. (1 O)
Equation (10) is the PB radial distribution function for ions next to a charged,
spherical macroparticle. If equation (10) is combined with (2), we obtain the integral
equation version of the PB theory for this system. Therefore, the short range potential,
Jj(r), must be an approximation to the so-called fluctuation terms that occur when
the PB equation is derived from the partition function [19]. These exact expressions
for the fluctuation terms are complicated, and have been analysed carefully by
Outhwaite [20]. Hence, from this point of view, H N C / M S A and MPB5, equation
(13) of [15], seem to be different only in the way the fluctuation terms are taken into
account, whereas the PB equation simply neglects these fluctuation terms and the
ionic size in the interactions of all the ions but those with the central ion.
In this paper the H N C / M S A integral equation and the integral equation version
 762 L. Degr6ve and M. Lozada-Cassou

of the PB theory were solved numerically using finite element methods. The details
of the numerical procedure are given in [10].

2.2. T h e M o n t e C a r l o m e t h o d
Systems of R P M electrolyte solutions, subjected to an external field of spherical
geometry, were simulated at T = 298 K by the standard Metropolis MC method that
accepts or rejects a new configuration based on the energy difference between the
new and the old configurations [14-18, 21-23]. Two types of electrolyte were
considered, 1:2 and 2:1, both at bulk salt concentrations p = 0.005 M and 0.5 M. The
electrolyte solution was modelled by the RPM, i.e., the ions were taken to be charged
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hard spheres with equal diameter for cations and anions fixed at a = 4.25 A. The
solvent was considered through a uniform dielectric constant E = 78.5. The external
field was modelled like that produced by a charged, spherical hard macroparticle. To
avoid image potential effects the dielectric constants of the ions and of the
macroparticle were taken to be equal to that of the solvent. Two values of the
macroparticle radius R were considered, i.e., 5 A and 15 A. The macroparticle was
modelled as a hard sphere with a charge located at its centre. Values of its
surface charge density between a - - 0 - 1 C m -2 and 0.3 C m -2 were studied. The
electrolyte is formed by N_ anions and N+ cations with charges z _ e and z+e,
respectively, where e is the protonic charge. The net electrostatic charge of the system,
macroparticle plus electrolyte, is maintained neutral by adjusting the number of ions
through

N z _ e + N + z + e + 4 r r R 2 a = O. (11)
The system formed by the macroparticle and the R P M electrolyte occupies a cubic
MC cell with the macroparticle fixed at its centre. The usual periodic conditions and
minimum image conventions for the ions were used without a sophisticated treatment
of the long range forces, since the plasma parameter, defined as

F = EkT pTNAv ' (12)

is less than 4"5, for z = 2 and p = 0"5 M. This value of the plasma parameter is much
smaller than ten. In any other case considered here, F has an even lower value. Ten
is the value of F recommended to start using special treatments such as Ewald sums.
Hence, no macroparticle image was considered in the energy calculations. This is
equivalent to using a cut-off for the long range interactions of half the simulation
box, since then the closest macroparticle image is always the central macroparticle
of the simulation box. The simulation box of course was constructed sufficiently large
to neglect macroparticle macroparticle interactions. In the plasma parameter formula,
PT is the counterion plus coion molar concentration, and 1\~,, is the Avogadro number.
The total number of ions varies from about 300, for p = 0.005 M and R = 5/~, to
about 1500, for p = 0.5 M and R = 15 A. On the other hand, we did not use a cut-off
on the energies. The MC parameter, the m a x i m u m displacement distance for a new
position, was fixed to give ~ 50% acceptance ratio. The total number of Monte Carlo
cycles during the density profiles calculations was fixed at 30 000. Hence, the numbers
of configurations generated varied between 9 x 106 and 45 x 106.
 M C and H N C / M S A of electrolyte 763

250
2:1
200.

""
150.
001 M
1oo. /
1M
-

/
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0 ' ' ' ' I . . . . I . . . . I . . . .

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

(y [C/m2]
Figure 1. Macroparticle ~ potential as a function of its surface charge density a for
macroparticle radii of 5/~ and 15 ,~. The electrolyte is a 2:1 restricted primitive model
electrolyte (E = 78"5, T = 298 K, a = 4'25 ,~). Calculations for two bulk counterion
concentrations are shown, i.e., 0-01 M and 1 M. The counterion is the monovalent ion.
The black dots are the MC data, while the solid and dashed curves are the HNC/MSA
and PB results, respectively. The crosses are the MPB5 results.

3. Results
We report the ionic reduced density profile, g~(r), around the macroparticle and
the macroparticle ~" potential as a function of its surface charge density a. The
subscript j in gj(r) refers to the positive and negative ionic species. We have followed
the convention [10] of defining ~ as the mean electrostatic potential O(r) at the
ion-macromolecule distance of closed approach, i.e., ~ =- O(R + a/2). In terms of the
RDF, these quantities are given by

e [ ~ (z+p+g+(r) + z _ p _ g _ ( r ) ) r 2 dr, (13)

a -- R2 ,JR+a/2
and

= ___4r~e (z+p+g+(r) + z _ p _ g _ ( r ) ) r dr. (14)

+a/2 R + a/2

In figure 1, we present our MC data of ~ versus a for a 2:1 RPM electrolyte, next
to a spherical macroparticle. Calculations were made for two values of the counterion
bulk concentration, 0.01 M and 1 M, and two values of the macroparticle radius,
5 A and 15 A. The MC data are compared with those from HNC/MSA, MPB5, and
PB theories. The agreement of the H N C / M S A and MPB5 results with the MC data
is excellent. The PB theory has excellent agreement with the MC data for the lowest
macroparticle radius and counterion concentration. However, its agreement with the
MC data gets poorer with increasing macroparticle radius and charge, and counterion
concentration. A higher counterion bulk concentration implies a higher counterion
local concentration around the macroparticle. If the local concentration is higher,
 764 L. Degr6ve and M. Lozada-Cassou

125
1:2
100. 5 /~

0.005 M
75. j/

50. xO

25. 0.5M
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0 . . . . I ' ' ' ' I . . . . I . . . .

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

(3 [ C / m 2]

Figure 2. Macroparticle ~ potential as a function of its surface charge density a for

macroparticle radii of 5 A. The electrolyte is a 1:2 restricted primitive model electrolyte
(E = 78-5, T = 298 K, a = 4'25 •). Calculations for two bulk counterion concentrations
are shown, i.e., 0.005 M and 0.5 M. The counterion is the double valence ion. The black
dots are the MC data, while the solid and dashed curves are the HNC/MSA and PB
results, respectively. The crosses are the MPB5 results.

the ionic size effects, neglected in the PB theory, are more important. In addition,
larger values of the macroparticle charge and radius imply a more intense electrical
fieldand, hence, a larger local counterion concentration around the macroparticle.
A higher bulk counterion concentration and/or macroparticle charge and radius
imply a narrower, stronger EDL. The MC, H N C / M S A , MPB5, and PB ~ versus cr
curves, for a 2:1 salt, shown in figure 1 have almost perfect agreement with their
corresponding ~ versus ~ curves, for a l: 1 salt, shown in figure 1 of [14]. For both,
2:1 and 1:1, salts similar shortcomings of the PB theory are observed. Thus, our
comparison suggests limits for the application of the very c o m m o n point-ion
hypothesis.
Figures 2 and 3 present ~ versus a curves for a 1:2 R P M electrolyte for R = 5 A
and 15 A, respectively. Calculations for two counterion concentrations are shown,
i.e., 0.005 ~ and 0.5 M. For the two macroparticle radii, both the H N C / M S A and the
MPB5 curves are in very good agreement with the MC data at high counterion
concentration, whereas PB theory is ostensibly deficient. The MC simulations exhibit
a m a x i m u m in the R = 5 A, 0.0005 M, and R = 15 A, 0.005 ~ and 5 M curves for the
zeta potential. This feature is also present in the H N C / M S A curves, but it is not in
the PB and MPB5 results. H N C / M S A underestimates the zeta potential at high
macroparticle charges for the R = 15 A, 0.5 M curve, whereas MPB5 seems to give
better agreement at high macroparticle charges. For the lower concentration
(p = 0.005 M), all the theories are in very good agreement with the MC data for low
or. For higher surface charge densities and 0.005 M counterion concentration, the
H N C / M S A and MPB5 curves follow the MC results, although the MPB5 theory is
clearly quantitatively closed to the MC data than the H N C / M S A . For R = 5 A MPB5
underestimates the value of ~ and qualitatively fails to reproduce the non-monotonic
behaviour (i.e., the maximum) shown by the MC ~ versus cr curve, as it does for the
 MC and HNC/MSA of electrolyte 765

125
1:2
100
/
/
/

> 75 /-
/
0.005 M
E
50
/

25 0.5 M
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0 ' ' ' ' I ' ' ' ' I ' ' ' ' I
w l | !

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

(3 [C/m2]

Figure 3. Macroparticle ~" potential as a function of its surface charge density a for a
macroparticle radius of 15A. The electrolyte is a 1:2 restricted primitive model
electrolyte (e = 78.5, T = 298 K, a = 4.25 A). Calculations for two bulk counterion
concentrations are shown, i.e., 0"005 M and 0'5 g. The counterion is the double valance
ion. The black dots are the MC data, while the solid and dashed curves are the
HNC/MSA and PB results, respectively. The crosses are the MPB5 results.

planar geometry [24]. The MPB5 tends to a plateau for both radii and concentrations.
This is also the case for symmetrical electrolytes [14]. These maxima also appear in
our symmetrical electrolyte MC calculations for a spherical E D L [14], and in the
MC calculations for a planar E D L of Torrie and Valleau [6, 7]. Therefore, these
maxima seem to be real. A comparison of figures 2 and 3 for 1:2 salts with those
shown in [14] for 2:2 salts shows that the ~ versus ~r curves are determined by the
counterion valence. The ~ versus a curves for the 1:2 salts are practically indistin-
guishable from their 2:2 corresponding ~ versus a curves. However, for R = 15 A
and a 0.005 ~ counterion concentration, all the theories for the 1 : 2 salt are in better
agreement with the MC data than in the 2:2 salt case. Despite their numerical
differences, regarding agreement with MC data, the H N C / M S A and the MPB5
theories give an acceptable description of the spherical E D L system for symmetrical
and asymmetrical electrolytes, whereas the PB theory fails quantitatively and, for
divalent counterions, qualitatively in its predictions.
The characteristics of the thermodynamic properties of the spherical E D L can
be traced to the behaviour of the ionic R D F s of the system. Figures 4 and 5 compare
the H N C / M S A , MPB5 and PB R D F s with those from our MC simulations. In figure
4 results for a 1:2, 0.5 M electrolyte with a macroparticle radius of 15 A and charge
density of 0"204 C m -x are presented. The comparison shows good agreement
between H N C / M S A and MC, whereas the PB results are in poorer agreement. In
addition to the quantitative disagreement with the MC distribution functions,
particularly for the counterion, the PB theory is unable to predict the change
oscillations present in the MC and H N C / M S A ionic profiles. The agreement of the
MPB5's RDFs with the MC and H N C / M S A results is very good. The MPB5
counterion contact value is a bit higher than that of the H N C / M S A and that of the
 766 L. D e g r 6 v e a n d M. L o z a d a - C a s s o u

20

1:2

15. 0.5M

e~o 0 = 0.204 C/m 2

10 ,.

5.
Downloaded by [TIB & Universitaetsbibliothek] at 12:21 03 January 2015

01 ? .... 2'.0 . . . . 310 . . . . 410 . . . . 510 . . . . 6t0:

r/(aJ2)
Figure 4. Counterion and colon reduced density profiles of a 1:2 restricted primitive model
electrolyte (e = 78.5, T = 298 K, a = 4.24 A) next to a charged spherical macroparticle
with a radius of 15 N and a surface charge density of 0.204 C m - 2 as a function of their
distance to the macroparticle surface. The counterion bulk concentration is 0"5 M. The
counterion is the double valence ion. The dashed line represents the M C data, while
the solid and dotted curves are the H N C / M S A and PB results, respectively. The black
dots are MPB5 unpublished results, kindly provided by C. W. Outhwaite and L. B.
Bhuiyan. The upper and lower curves are the counterion and coion profiles, respectively.

20O
1.2-

1- * ..:,.o 9 9 9 ,

150

~' 10O ", ..

50 ~\" 0 ..............................
9 0 0 ' 8'.0 ' I'6 ' 2'4 ' 3'2 '

0 i;i 80
r/(a/2)
Figure 5. Counterion and coion reduced densitj profiles of a 1:2 restricted primitive model
electrolyte (E = 78.5, T = 298 K, a = 4.25 A) next to a charged spherical macroparticle
with a radius of 5 ~ and a surface charge density of 0-204 C m 2, as a function of their
distance to the macroparticle surface. The counterion bulk concentration is 0-005 M. The
counterion is the double valance ion. The black dots are the M C data, while the solid
and long-dashed curves are the H N C / M S A and PB results, respectively. The coion
profiles are shown in the inset. The short-dashed curves are MPB5 unpublished results,
kindly provided by C. W. Outhwaite and L. B. Bhuiyan. The upper and lower curves
are the counterion and coion profiles, respectively.
 MC and HNC/MSA of electrolyte 767

extrapolated value of the MC contact value. In figure 5 results for a 1:2, 0.005 M
electrolyte next to a 5 A, 0"204 C m -2 macroparticle are shown. The agreement of
the H N C / M S A curves with the MC data is not as good as that in figure 4. This is
consistent with the poorer agreement between the MC and H N C / M S A ~ versus a
data shown in figure 2, for R = 5 A, 0'005 M and a = 0.204 C m-2, as compared with
that shown in figure 3, for R = 15 A, 0.5 M and a = 0-204 C m -2. In figure 5, the PB
curve is in better agreement with the MC data than that seen in figure 4. This is to
be expected since at a lower counterion concentration the ionic size effect should be
less important. The predicted P B zeta potential, corresponding to the R D F of figure
5, is slightly worse than that from the H N C / M S A theory. This seems to be consistent
with their results for the RDF. An important quantitative disagreement in the colon
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RDF is shown. Nevertheless, as is clear from equations (13) and (14), the coion RDF
does not have a very important influence on the calculated ~ and a quantities. The
coion MPB5's RDF is-in excellent agreement with MC. It is clearly better than that
of HNC/MSA. On the other hand, while the MPB5's counterion RDF is, in general,
in very good agreement with the MC a n d H N C / M S A results, its counterion contact
value is more than twice that of MC and HNC/MSA, i.e., the MPB5 counterion
contact value is 377.00. This result seems to agree with the data shown in figure 2.
In general, our spherical MC data for divalent counterions and low concentrations
indicate that the performance of the PB theory is poor. This is more clearly observed
for the higher charge densities, where the PB counterion profiles exhibit a very
different curvature with respect to the MC and H N C / M S A counterion RDFs. These
last results are not shown.
Several quantities, such as the mean electrostatic and zeta potentials, given by
equations (2) and (14), or the macroparticle surface charge density, given by equation
(13), are determined basically by the counterion RDF. Thus, the H N C / M S A theory
will be superior to the PB equation as a result of having a better counterion RDF.
The 1:2 MPB5's counterion contact values seem to be systematically higher than those
of the HNC/MSA. This probably has the effect of overcorrecting their 1:2 ~ versus
cr curves. The 1:2 MPB5 ~ versus a curves are systematically lower than those of the
MC and HNC/MSA. MPB5 is clearly quantitatively better than the H N C / M S A in
predicting the 1:2 ~ versus a curves.
L. B. Bhuiyan has kindly provided us with unpublished RDFs for the
conditions of figures 4 and 5.

4. Conclusion
We performed MC simulations for 1:2 and 2:1 restricted primitive model
electrolytes, in an external electrical field of spherical geometry, as a simple model
of a charged, spherical macroparticle, immersed in an asymmetrical salt. We conclude
that, in general, the widely used PB theory fails to predict, qualitatively and
quantitatively, the properties of the system, except for the simplest cases in which
counterion valences and concentrations and macroparticle charge densities and radii
are all small. In particular, the PB equation predicts an EDL which is too thick, and,
consequently, overestimates the ~ potential and underestimates the contact value of
the counterion distribution. On the other hand, the well established H N C / M S A and
MPB5 theories are shown to be in good accordance with our computer simulations,
over a wide range of conditions. This is true even for the demanding case of divalent
counterions. The H N C / M S A and MPB5 ~ versus a curves reproduce the main
 768 L. Degrdve and M. Lozada-Cassou

qualitative features exhibited by the MC simulations. The H N C / M S A { versus a

curves are qualitatively more consistent with the MC results than those from the
MPB5 equation, since, for the 1:2 case, the latter tends to a plateau while the
H N C / M S A theory has maxima. H N C / M S A consistently tends to overestimate the
MC ~ versus a curves, and the corresponding MPB5 results shift between overestimat-
ing and underestimating. For the three theories the agreement with respect to the
MC data deteriorates for larger radii. Noticeable differences between H N C / M S A ,
MPB5, and computer simulations arise for divalent ions and low concentrations.
The much better quantitative agreement of MPB5 is probably due to a better
treatment of the fluctuation potential, which seems to take into account better the
ion ion correlation subjected to the external field produced by the macroparticle.
Downloaded by [TIB & Universitaetsbibliothek] at 12:21 03 January 2015

We would like to thank Professor L. B. Bhuiyan and Professor C. W. Outhwaite

for providing us with their MPB5 results and Professor L. B. Bhiyan for valuable
discussions. M.L.-C. acknowledges the support of C O N A C Y T through the research
projects F058-I9108 and 03163-E. L.D. acknowledges the Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnol6gico, and M.L.-C and L.D. the FundagS.o de
Amparo fi Pesquisa do Estado de Silo Paulo.

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