A molecular dynamics study of intramolecular proton transfer reaction of malonaldehyde in solution based upon a mixed...

The intramolecular proton transfer reaction of malonaldehyde in neon solvent has been investigated by mixed quantum-classical molecular dynamics (QCMD) calculations and fully classical molecular dynamics (FCMD) calculations. Comparing these calculated results with those for malonaldehyde in water reported in Part I [A. Yamada, H. Kojima, and S. Okazaki, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 084509 (2014)], the solvent dependence of the reaction rate, the reaction mechanism involved, and the quantum effect therein have been investigated. With FCMD, the reaction rate in weakly interacting neon is lower than that in strongly interacting water. However, with QCMD, the order of the reaction rates is reversed. To investigate the mechanisms in detail, the reactions were categorized into three mechanisms: tunneling, thermal activation, and barrier vanishing. Then, the quantum and solvent effects were analyzed from the viewpoint of the reaction mechanism focusing on the shape of potential energy curve and its fluctuations. The higher reaction rate that was found for neon in QCMD compared with that found for water solvent arises from the tunneling reactions because of the nearly symmetric double-well shape of the potential curve in neon. The thermal activation and barrier vanishing reactions were also accelerated by the zero-point energy. The number of reactions based on these two mechanisms in water was greater than that in neon in both QCMD and FCMD because these reactions are dominated by the strength of solute-solvent interactions.