Hydration Gibbs free energies of open and closed shell trivalent lanthanide and actinide cations from polarizable molecular dynamics.

The hydration free energies, structures, and dynamics of open- and closed-shell trivalent lanthanide and actinide metal cations are studied using molecular dynamics simulations (MD) based on a polarizable force field. Parameters for the metal cations are derived from an ab initio bottom-up strategy. MD simulations of six cations solvated in bulk water are subsequently performed with the AMOEBA polarizable force field. The calculated first-and second shell hydration numbers, water residence times, and free energies of hydration are consistent with experimental/theoretical values leading to a predictive modeling of f-elements compounds.