A potential model for the study of ices and amorphous water: TIP4P/Ice

The ability of several water models to predict the properties of ices is discussed. The emphasis is put on the results for the densities and the coexistence curves between the different ice forms. It is concluded that none of the most commonly used rigid models is satisfactory. A new model specifically designed to cope with solid-phase properties is proposed. The parameters have been obtained by fitting the equation of state and selected points of the melting lines and of the coexistence lines involving different ice forms. The phase diagram is then calculated for the new potential. The predicted melting temperature of hexagonal ice (Ih) at 1 bar is 272.2 K. This excellent value does not imply a deterioration of the rest of the properties. In fact, the predictions for both the densities and the coexistence curves are better than for TIP4P, which previously yielded the best estimations of the ice properties.