Abstract
A dynamical theory for the spontaneous formation and growth of spherical drops in a metastable liquid phase is constructed out of hydrodynamics, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and thermodynamic fluctuation theory and used to predict the nucleation kinetics for phase separation in a liquid binary mixture. The nucleation rate is considerably lower than that predicted by classical nucleation theory and the inhomogeneities which result from forming nuclei in a finite time cause the actual kinetic path to differ considerably from the classical path. A qualitative agreement with experiment is demonstrated.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3298-3309 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | The Journal of Chemical Physics |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1974 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry