Molecular Dynamics Simulation Prediction of the Partitioning Constants (<i>K</i><sub>H</sub>, <i>K</i><sub>iw</sub>, <i>K</i><sub>ia</sub>) of 82 Legacy and Emerging Organic Contaminants at the Water–Air Interface
Amélie C. Lemay, Ethan J. Sontarp, Daniela Martínez, Philip Maruri, Raneem Mohammed, Ryan Neapole, Morgan Wiese, Jennifer A. R. Willemsen, Ian C. Bourg
Abstract
The tendency of organic contaminants (OCs) to partition between different phases is a key set of properties that underlie their human and ecological health impacts and the success of remediation efforts. A significant challenge associated with these efforts is the need for accurate partitioning data for an ever-expanding list of OCs and breakdown products. All-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have the potential to help generate these data, but existing studies have applied these techniques only to a limited variety of OCs. Here, we use established MD simulation approaches to examine the partitioning of 82 OCs, including many compounds of critical concern, at the water–air interface. Our predictions of the Henry’s law constant ( K H ) and interfacial adsorption coefficients ( K iw, K ia ) correlate strongly with experimental results, indicating that MD simulations can be used to predict K H, K iw, and K ia values with mean absolute deviations of 1.1, 0.3, and 0.3 logarithmic units after correcting for systematic bias, respectively. A library of MD simulation input files for the examined OCs is provided to facilitate future investigations of the partitioning of these compounds in the presence of other phases.