Poisson-Fermi Model of Single Ion Activities in Aqueous Solutions

A Poisson-Fermi model is proposed for calculating activity coefficients of single ions in strong electrolyte solutions based on the experimental Born radii and hydration shells of ions in aqueous solutions. The steric effect of water molecules and interstitial voids in the first and second hydration shells play an important role in our model. The screening and polarization effects of water are also included in the model that can thus describe spatial variations of dielectric permittivity, water density, void volume, and ionic concentration. The activity coefficients obtained by the Poisson-Fermi model with only one adjustable parameter are shown to agree with experimental data, which vary nonmonotonically with salt concentrations.