An increasing number of researchers are starting to use bond order potentials, and in particular the Reactive Force Field. The ability of these force fields, known as third generation force fields, to describe bond formation and bond breaking during a simulation that is orders of magnitude faster than ab initio MD has made possible to study phenomena that was considered impossible a few years ago.

The use of third generation force fields in molecular simulations represents an important advance in physical chemistry. These force fields allow us to study systems where the system can be perturbed significantly outside the equilibrium state, to the extent that bonds are broken, opening the door to efficiently study a variety of complex systems, from combustion, degradation of biomass, corrosion, etc.

This meeting aims to be a discussion forum for researchers working with reactive force fields and those interested in problems that can benefit from using these methods. We aim to cover a wide spectra of topics, from force field parametrisation, implementation in molecular dynamics simulations, and specific applications, highlighting the current capabilities and identifying future needs.

We hope you can join us in Manchester in this meeting sponsored by the RSC Faraday Division and CCP5.