Conformations of a dipolar solute in a Stockmayer solvent channel

A wide range of molecules, from inorganic to biological, self-assemble on surfaces. Previous studies have elucidated many features of solute reorganization on surfaces using coarse-grained modeling, implicit solvents, and constraints such as chemically bonding the solute to the surface. Using molecular dynamics simulations under various combinations of interaction parameters, solute fractions, and solute dipole moment, we study the redistribution of freely-rotating dipolar solute molecules solvated by a water-like Stockmayer solvent initially adhered to a face-centered cubic substrate. The balance of attractive and repulsive forces is essential for acquiring a particular stable conformation. Here we show that the adsorbed molecules redistribute into different conformations--wetting film, nonwetting, partial wetting, and pseudopartial wetting drops--depending on the parameter values. We observe that the pseudopartial wetting drop is transient and its rate of spreading fluctuates, slowing to nearly zero as it passes through particular conformations before reaching an equilibrium thin film. Strong attraction between solute molecules yields a droplet with a net dipole moment. A high solute fraction leads to a pancake-like conformation arising from a balance of surface tension and van der Waals forces. This study augments our understanding of the evolution of aggregates in biological systems and also the design of polymers for self-assembled monolayers for industrial applications.