We investigate the screening properties of Gaussian charge models of electrolyte solutions by analysing the asymptotic behaviour of the pair correlation functions. We use a combination of Monte Carlo simulations with the hyper-netted chain integral equation closure, and the random phase approximation, to establish the conditions under which a screening length is well defined and the extent to which it matches the expected Debye length. For practical applications, for example, in dissipative particle dynamics, we are able to summarise our results in succinct rules-of-thumb which can be used for mesoscale modeling of electrolyte solutions. We thereby establish a solid foundation for future work, such as the systematic incorporation of specific ion effects.

Techniques to adapt the hit-and-miss Monte-Carlo numerical integration are proposed with the aim to determine virial coefficients up to eighth order in fluids of hard convex bodies, hard spheres with an attractive square-well potential and a two-component mixture of hard spheres. These algorithms make use of look-up tables of all the blocks contributing to the coefficients. Each type of block is represented in the tables by several entries. These correspond to all possible topologically equivalent graphs that can be generated by the Monte-Carlo process. This rendered the Monte-Carlo method statistically more efficient. In the case of a two-component system the look-up tables had to have representations of blocks having two sorts of vertices. The reported data are: improved values of the seventh and eighth virial coefficients for hard spheres, the sixth, seventh and eighth coefficients of spheroids, spherocylinders and cutspheres, fifth virial coefficient of spheres with a square-well potential of relative range 1.25; 1.5; 1.75 and 2.0 and the partial contributions of the sixth virial coefficient for a mixture of hard spheres with the size ratio 0.1.

We extend our previous study [J. Chem. Phys. 138, 204907 (2013)] to quantify the screening properties of four mesoscale smoothed charge models used in dissipative particle dynamics. Using a combination of the hypernetted chain integral equation closure and the random phase approximation, we identify regions where the models exhibit a real-valued screening length, and the extent to which this agrees with the Debye length in the physical system. We find that the second moment of the smoothed charge distribution is a good predictor of this behaviour. We are thus able to recommend a consistent set of parameters for the models.

We have calculated virial coefficients up to seventh order for the isotropic phases of a variety of fluids composed of hard aspherical particles. The models studied were hard spheroids, hard spherocylinders, and truncated hard spheres, and results are obtained for a variety of length-to-width ratios. We compare the predicted virial equations of state with those determined by simulation. We also use our data to calculate the coefficients of the y expansion [B. Barboy and W. M. Gelbart, J. Chem. Phys. 71, 3053 (1979)] and to study its convergence properties. Finally, we use our data to estimate the radius of convergence of the virial series for these aspherical particles. For fairly spherical particles, we estimate the radius of convergence to be similar to that of the density of closest packing. For more anisotropic particles, however, the radius of convergence decreases with increased anisotropy and is considerably less than the close-packed density.

We report the temporal stability of the dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes in a binary solvent “water + glycerol” having eutectic composition (ca. 67% wt.) with sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate as a dispersant. The system procures good temporal and thermal stability: its absorption spectra demonstrate no changes during one-year storage with temperature spanning −40 to +40 °C. The system provides non-linear optical power limiting of the incident laser radiation (532 nm) in a one-shot and pulse-periodic regimes of its applying.