Properties of Hydrated Alkali Metals Aimed at the Ion Channel Selectivity

The hydration structure properties of different alkali metal ions with eight water molecules and potassium ions with different numbers of water molecules are studied using the mixed density functional theory, B3LYP, with 6-311G basis set. The hydration structures are obtained from structure optimization and the optimum numbers of water molecules in the innermost hydration shell for the alkali metal ions are found. Some useful information about the ion channel selectivity is presented.