Probing the Role of Solvent Configurations and Local Electric Fields on HX (X = F, Cl, Br and I) Dissociation in Water Clusters

The acidity of hydrohalic acids increases down the group, with HF and HI being the weakest and strongest acids. Electronic structure calculations suggest that the critical electric fields required for the dissociation of HF, HCl, HBr, and HI are 347, 193, 163, and 153 MV cm