An all-atom simulation study of the ordering of liquid squalane near a solid surface

An all-atom molecular dynamics study using the OPLS force field has been carried out to obtain new insights in to the orientation and ordering of liquid squalane near a solid surface. As observed in previous experiments, the squalane molecules closest to a SiO2 substrate are found to be tightly bound with their molecular axis preferentially parallel to the interface. Unlike linear alkanes, the squalane molecules are also found to lie preferentially parallel to the liquid/vapor interface. The simulation results predict that the molecular plane orientation of the squalane molecules changes from mainly parallel to perpendicular to the substrate in going further away from the substrate.