Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations

Abstract This study aims to analyze the temperature-dependent hydration of diluted ionic solutions. Three monovalent anions (Cl-, Br-, and I-), three monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, and K+), and one bivalent ion each (SO4 2- and Mg2+, respectively) were chosen as models. The partial molar volumes of a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marta Onuk, Anna Stefaniuk, Iryna Doroshenko, Jarosław Poznański
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14329-w
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849333055616974848
author Marta Onuk
Anna Stefaniuk
Iryna Doroshenko
Jarosław Poznański
author_facet Marta Onuk
Anna Stefaniuk
Iryna Doroshenko
Jarosław Poznański
author_sort Marta Onuk
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study aims to analyze the temperature-dependent hydration of diluted ionic solutions. Three monovalent anions (Cl-, Br-, and I-), three monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, and K+), and one bivalent ion each (SO4 2- and Mg2+, respectively) were chosen as models. The partial molar volumes of all possible two-component salts (i.e., LiCl, NaCl, KCl, LiBr, NaBr, KBr. LiI, NaI, KI, MgCl2, MgBr2, MgI2, Li2SO4, Na2SO4, K2SO4, and MgSO4) were determined in water at low solute concentrations (10− 3 to 3·10− 2 mol/kg) in the 20 ÷ 40 °C temperature range. The density analysis was based on the first-order (linear) approximation of the density-molality relation corrected for the Debye-Hückel slope for volumes. No additional sophisticated corrections were applied. For all salts except the bivalent-bivalent MgSO4, the partial molar volume is positive and generally increases with temperature much more than bulk water. The temperature-dependent partial molar volumes of particular ions were determined globally, assuming the composition-dependent additive contribution to the partial molar volume of the salt. The qualitative differences between anions and cations were identified, reflecting their divergent electrostatic contributions to solute-solvent interactions. Similar nonlinear trends were observed in molecular dynamics simulations of the solvated separate ions at 10 ÷ 50 °C. The observed differences between anions and cations should be attributed to principal water properties, specifically the electron density distribution, which interferes with the packing of asymmetric water molecules around the ions of interest.
format Article
id doaj-art-101ab1bc73704947b34d27afbcc3ccfb
institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-101ab1bc73704947b34d27afbcc3ccfb2025-08-20T03:46:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-14329-wDensimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cationsMarta Onuk0Anna Stefaniuk1Iryna Doroshenko2Jarosław Poznański3Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of SciencesInstitute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of SciencesFaculty of Physics, Taras Shevchenko National University of KyivInstitute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of SciencesAbstract This study aims to analyze the temperature-dependent hydration of diluted ionic solutions. Three monovalent anions (Cl-, Br-, and I-), three monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, and K+), and one bivalent ion each (SO4 2- and Mg2+, respectively) were chosen as models. The partial molar volumes of all possible two-component salts (i.e., LiCl, NaCl, KCl, LiBr, NaBr, KBr. LiI, NaI, KI, MgCl2, MgBr2, MgI2, Li2SO4, Na2SO4, K2SO4, and MgSO4) were determined in water at low solute concentrations (10− 3 to 3·10− 2 mol/kg) in the 20 ÷ 40 °C temperature range. The density analysis was based on the first-order (linear) approximation of the density-molality relation corrected for the Debye-Hückel slope for volumes. No additional sophisticated corrections were applied. For all salts except the bivalent-bivalent MgSO4, the partial molar volume is positive and generally increases with temperature much more than bulk water. The temperature-dependent partial molar volumes of particular ions were determined globally, assuming the composition-dependent additive contribution to the partial molar volume of the salt. The qualitative differences between anions and cations were identified, reflecting their divergent electrostatic contributions to solute-solvent interactions. Similar nonlinear trends were observed in molecular dynamics simulations of the solvated separate ions at 10 ÷ 50 °C. The observed differences between anions and cations should be attributed to principal water properties, specifically the electron density distribution, which interferes with the packing of asymmetric water molecules around the ions of interest.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14329-wDensity measurementPartial molar volumeTemperature-dependenceIon solvationKosmotropic and chaotropic effectsMolecular dynamics
spellingShingle Marta Onuk
Anna Stefaniuk
Iryna Doroshenko
Jarosław Poznański
Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
Scientific Reports
Density measurement
Partial molar volume
Temperature-dependence
Ion solvation
Kosmotropic and chaotropic effects
Molecular dynamics
title Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
title_full Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
title_fullStr Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
title_full_unstemmed Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
title_short Densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature-dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
title_sort densimetry of diluted aqueous salt solutions and molecular dynamics simulations identify temperature dependent differences between the hydration of anions and cations
topic Density measurement
Partial molar volume
Temperature-dependence
Ion solvation
Kosmotropic and chaotropic effects
Molecular dynamics
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14329-w
work_keys_str_mv AT martaonuk densimetryofdilutedaqueoussaltsolutionsandmoleculardynamicssimulationsidentifytemperaturedependentdifferencesbetweenthehydrationofanionsandcations
AT annastefaniuk densimetryofdilutedaqueoussaltsolutionsandmoleculardynamicssimulationsidentifytemperaturedependentdifferencesbetweenthehydrationofanionsandcations
AT irynadoroshenko densimetryofdilutedaqueoussaltsolutionsandmoleculardynamicssimulationsidentifytemperaturedependentdifferencesbetweenthehydrationofanionsandcations
AT jarosławpoznanski densimetryofdilutedaqueoussaltsolutionsandmoleculardynamicssimulationsidentifytemperaturedependentdifferencesbetweenthehydrationofanionsandcations