Ab Initio Liquid Water Dynamics in Aqueous TMAO Solution

Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations in trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)-D2O solution are employed to elucidate the effects of TMAO on the reorientational dynamics of D2O molecules. By decomposing the O-D groups of the D2O molecules into specific subensembles, we reveal that water reorientational dynamics are retarded considerably in the vicinity of the hydrophilic TMAO oxygen (O-TMAO) atom, due to the O-D center dot center dot center dot O-TMAO hydrogen-bond. We find that this reorientational motion is governed by two distinct mechanisms: The O-D group rotates (1) after breaking the O-D center dot center dot center dot O-TMAO hydrogen-bond, or (2) together with the TMAO molecule while keeping this hydrogen-bond intact. While the orientational slow-down is prominent in the AIMD simulation, simulations based on force field models exhibit much faster dynamics. The simulated angle-resolved radial distribution functions illustrate that the O-D center dot center dot center dot O-TMAO hydrogen-bond has a strong directionality through the sp(3) orbital configuration in the AIMD simulation, and this directionality is not properly accounted for in the force field simulation. These results imply that care must be taken when modeling negatively charged oxygen atoms as single point charges; force field models may not adequately describe the hydration configuration and dynamics.