Recent advances in understanding transfer ions across aqueous interfaces

Understanding the composition of aqueous interfaces and the mechanism for ion transport across these interfaces is of fundamental importance for biological, environmental, and industrial processes. Molecular dynamics simulations, using the potential of mean force technique, can map the free energy profile across interfaces. In some cases, where the free energy of ion transfer between two phases has been determined experimentally, the potential of mean force technique can validate the results obtained from simulations against the experimental results. In addition, the inclusion of polarizability in the interaction potential can be of paramount importance for understanding interfacial properties and the ion transfer mechanism in interfacial environments. This review discusses recent studies of ion transport across aqueous interfaces, and provides insight into the ion transport mechanism and why certain interfacial behavior is observed.