Hydration mechanisms of smithsonite from DFT-D calculations and MD simulations

摘要

Investigation on the mineral
water interactions is crucial for understanding the subsequent interfacial reactions.Currently,the hydration mechanisms of smithsonite are still obscure.In this paper,the adsorption of H_(2)O at different coverage rates on smithsonite(101)surface was innovatively investigated using density-functional theory(DFT)calculations and molecular dynamics(MD)simulations by analyzing adsorption model,interaction energy,atomic distance,density of state,electron density difference,concentration profile,radial distribution function and self-diffusion coefficient.We found that single H_(2)O preferred to be dissociated on smithsonite(101)surface via the interaction of surface Zn with the Ow of H_(2)O and H-bond between Hw of H_(2)O and surface Os.However,dissociation adsorption and molecular adsorption coexisted on the smithsonite surface at a high coverage rate of H_(2)O,and dissociation adsorption remained the main adsorption mechanism.Moreover,we found the interaction between smithsonite surface and H_(2)O was weakened as a function of H_(2)O coverage,which was because the presence of interlayer H_(2)O and different layers of H_(2)O decreased the reactivity of the smithsonite surface.The H_(2)O is mainly adsorbed on the smithsonite surface by forming three layers of H_(2)O(about 10–15Å),with the ordering degree gradually decreasing.