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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Direct calculation of solid-liquid interfacial free energy for molecular systems: TIP4P ice-water interface
Richard Handel1, Ruslan L Davidchack, Jamshed Anwar
1Department of Mathematics, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingsom.
Abstract:
By extending the cleaving method to molecular systems, we perform direct calculations of the ice Ih-water interfacial free energy for the TIP4P model. The values for the basal, prism, and {112[over]0} faces are 23.3+/-0.8 mJ m{-2}, 23.6+/-1.0 mJ m{-2}, and 24.7+/-0.8 mJ m{-2}, respectively. The closeness of these values implies a minimal role of thermodynamic factors in the anisotropic growth of ice crystals. These results are about 20% lower than the best experimental estimates. However, the Turnbull coefficient is about 50% higher than for real water, indicating a possible limitation of the TIP4P model in describing freezing.
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