Exploring the structure and dynamics of nano-confined water molecules using molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

Confinement effects can lead to drastic changes in the structural and dynamical properties of water molecules. In this work, we have performed classical molecular dynamics simulations of endohedral fullerenes of type (H2O)n@Cm (n = 1, 12, 21, 62, 108 and m = 60, 180, 240, 500 and 720) to explore the effects of spherical confinement on water properties. It is shown that these confined water molecules can form distinct solvation pattern depending upon the available space inside the fullerene cavity. For the systems with smaller diameter, cage-like structure is predominant whereas bulk-like structure is observed for larger fullerenes. The orientational relaxation of these confined water molecules showed slower relaxation as the cavity diameter increases except for the (H2O)21@C240. In this case, stable cage-like structure hinders the overall dynamics of the trapped water molecules. Finally, we have calculated the hydrogen bond lifetimes from the hydrogen bond time correlation functions and compared with that of bulk water.