A new lattice-based theory for hydrogen-bonding liquids in uniform electric fields

We propose a new lattice-based, mean-field theory for predicting alignment of molecular dipoles and hydrogen bonds in liquids subject to uniform electric fields. The theory is presently restricted to liquids whose molecules possess one (proton) donor and one acceptor sites each, and wherein the H-bond axis is collinear with the dipole moments of the bonded molecules. The final expressions for hydrogen bond stoichiometry and polarization are free of lattice parameters, are interpretable using simple phenomenological arguments, and reduce to known limiting forms. The theory is applied to understand the internal structure of hydrogen cyanide in the liquid state at different electric fields.