Notes in Physics: Nucleation Theory V. I. Kalikmanov Video Lecture on Classical Nucleation Theory (School on Nucleation aggregation and growth- 2010, ICTS-JNCASR) David Reguera Computational Methods for the study of Nucleation (School on Nucleation aggregation and growth- 2010, ICTS-JNCASR) Charusita Chakravarty
T, P and $mu$ which phase is thermodynamically stable — No information about kinetics of phase transformation https://www.chem.libretexts.org van der Waals equation of state Liquid-gas or gas-liquid phase transition P = kBT v b a v2 <latexit sha1_base64="7sIkpoq+rDfZhE0nst2CNRShRGo=">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</latexit> One component system
a metastable phase to a thermodynamically stable phase; formation of the first embryos of new phase — Most first-order phase transitions occur via nucleation Homogeneous nucleation: In the absence of impurity, surface etc.; achieved thermally; ideal case Heterogeneous nucleation: Impurity, surface, grain boundary etc. provide the place for nucleation site; more practical Goal of Nucleation theory: Rate at which embryos grow to a critical size
+ Volume n G <latexit sha1_base64="vEMFqaRr2AYZUz70ezEOQAsvWxQ=">AAAB8XicdVDJSgNBEO2JW4xb1KOXxkTwFGaioMeggh4jmAWTIfR0KkmTnp6hu0YIQ/7CiwdFvPo33vwbO4vg+qDpx3tVVNULYikMuu67k1lYXFpeya7m1tY3Nrfy2zt1EyWaQ41HMtLNgBmQQkENBUpoxhpYGEhoBMPzid+4A21EpG5wFIMfsr4SPcEZWum22L4AiYxeFjv5gls6diegv4lXmv5ugcxR7eTf2t2IJyEo5JIZ0/LcGP2UaRRcwjjXTgzEjA9ZH1qWKhaC8dPpxmN6YJUu7UXaPoV0qn7tSFlozCgMbGXIcGB+ehPxL6+VYO/UT4WKEwTFZ4N6iaQY0cn5tCs0cJQjSxjXwu5K+YBpxtGGlLMhfF5K/yf1csk7KnnX5ULlbB5HluyRfXJIPHJCKuSKVEmNcKLIPXkkT45xHpxn52VWmnHmPbvkG5zXDxgfj+A=</latexit> Nucleation: Thermal fluctuations allows the generation of small aggregates of liquid phase Small clusters are energetically unfavourable; dissolve back to individual molecules Clusters greater than a critical size are thermodynamically favourable and tend to grow to form a new phase Nucleation kinetics: Rate at which critically sized clusters are formed? G(n) = n µ + A(n) <latexit sha1_base64="8C0uILpbKBjN+oS1sEJHXThy2IY=">AAACFHicdZDLSgMxFIYz9VbrbdSlm2ArVIplpgq6EeoFdFnBXqBTSiZN29AkMyQZoQx9CDe+ihsXirh14c63MW1H8Hog5Of7zyE5vx8yqrTjvFupmdm5+YX0YmZpeWV1zV7fqKkgkphUccAC2fCRIowKUtVUM9IIJUHcZ6TuD87Gfv2GSEUDca2HIWlx1BO0SzHSBrXtQs47J0wjeJEXu/AY7kEBE+LxCBbgieGeoj2Ocm076xQPnHHB38ItTm4nC5KqtO03rxPgiBOhMUNKNV0n1K0YSU0xI6OMFykSIjxAPdI0UiBOVCueLDWCO4Z0YDeQ5ggNJ/TrRIy4UkPum06OdF/99MbwL68Z6e5RK6YijDQRePpQN2JQB3CcEOxQSbBmQyMQltT8FeI+kghrk2PGhPC5Kfxf1EpFd7/oXpWy5dMkjjTYAtsgD1xwCMrgElRAFWBwC+7BI3iy7qwH69l6mbamrGRmE3wr6/UD0Kia7g==</latexit>
of chemical reactions Assumptions: Clusters grow/decay because of attachment/detachment of individual molecule under isothermal condition; a monomer colliding with a cluster stick to it with unit probability; Markov process i.e., no memory + — Cluster of size n Cluster of size n+1 Cluster of size n+1 Cluster of size n f(n+1,t) f(n,t) ↵(n + 1, t) <latexit sha1_base64="41FlwtIUTX1QtO1S74VaOGVZtaQ=">AAAB+HicdVDLSsNAFJ3UV62PRl26GWyFihKS2FrdFd24rGAf0IYymU7s0MkkzEyEGvolblwo4tZPceffOH2ID/TAhcM593LvPX7MqFS2/W5kFhaXlleyq7m19Y3NvLm13ZRRIjBp4IhFou0jSRjlpKGoYqQdC4JCn5GWP7yY+K1bIiSN+LUaxcQL0Q2nAcVIaaln5otdxOIBKvFD50gdFHtmwbbKlfKZ7UJNTtxqufJFHMueogDmqPfMt24/wklIuMIMSdlx7Fh5KRKKYkbGuW4iSYzwEN2QjqYchUR66fTwMdzXSh8GkdDFFZyq3ydSFEo5Cn3dGSI1kL+9ifiX10lUcOqllMeJIhzPFgUJgyqCkxRgnwqCFRtpgrCg+laIB0ggrHRWOR3C56fwf9J0LefYcq7cQu18HkcW7II9UAIOqIIauAR10AAYJOAePIIn4854MJ6Nl1lrxpjP7IAfMF4/AOydkfc=</latexit> f(n,t) f(n+1,t) (n, t) <latexit sha1_base64="7aZFDwdkmuVcPpLY3SV3CSdxn+k=">AAAB83icdVDJSgNBEO2JW4xb1KOXxkSIIGFmTIzegl48RjALZELo6fQkTXp6hu4aIYT8hhcPinj1Z7z5N3YWcUEfFDzeq6Kqnh8LrsG2363U0vLK6lp6PbOxubW9k93da+goUZTVaSQi1fKJZoJLVgcOgrVixUjoC9b0h1dTv3nHlOaRvIVRzDoh6UsecErASF7e8xmQgjyB43w3m7OLpXLpwnaxIWdupVT+Ik7RniGHFqh1s29eL6JJyCRQQbRuO3YMnTFRwKlgk4yXaBYTOiR91jZUkpDpznh28wQfGaWHg0iZkoBn6veJMQm1HoW+6QwJDPRvbyr+5bUTCM47Yy7jBJik80VBIjBEeBoA7nHFKIiRIYQqbm7FdEAUoWBiypgQPj/F/5OGW3ROi86Nm6teLuJIowN0iArIQRVURdeohuqIohjdo0f0ZCXWg/VsvcxbU9ZiZh/9gPX6Ac1DkOI=</latexit> : Concentration of clusters containing n molecules at time t : Rate of attachment of single molecule to a cluster of size n at time t (condensation) : Rate of detachment of single molecule from a cluster of size n at time t (evaporation) (n, t) <latexit sha1_base64="7aZFDwdkmuVcPpLY3SV3CSdxn+k=">AAAB83icdVDJSgNBEO2JW4xb1KOXxkSIIGFmTIzegl48RjALZELo6fQkTXp6hu4aIYT8hhcPinj1Z7z5N3YWcUEfFDzeq6Kqnh8LrsG2363U0vLK6lp6PbOxubW9k93da+goUZTVaSQi1fKJZoJLVgcOgrVixUjoC9b0h1dTv3nHlOaRvIVRzDoh6UsecErASF7e8xmQgjyB43w3m7OLpXLpwnaxIWdupVT+Ik7RniGHFqh1s29eL6JJyCRQQbRuO3YMnTFRwKlgk4yXaBYTOiR91jZUkpDpznh28wQfGaWHg0iZkoBn6veJMQm1HoW+6QwJDPRvbyr+5bUTCM47Yy7jBJik80VBIjBEeBoA7nHFKIiRIYQqbm7FdEAUoWBiypgQPj/F/5OGW3ROi86Nm6teLuJIowN0iArIQRVURdeohuqIohjdo0f0ZCXWg/VsvcxbU9ZiZh/9gPX6Ac1DkOI=</latexit> ↵(n, t) <latexit sha1_base64="Y5eAgPG9S5mT4YmqsUlCdjMFOSo=">AAAB9HicdVDJSgNBEO2JW4xb1KOXxkSIIGFmTIzegl48RjALJEOo6XSSJj09Y3dPIIR8hxcPinj1Y7z5N3YWcUEfFDzeq6Kqnh9xprRtv1uJpeWV1bXkempjc2t7J727V1NhLAmtkpCHsuGDopwJWtVMc9qIJIXA57TuD66mfn1IpWKhuNWjiHoB9ATrMgLaSF62BTzqQ06c6ONsO52x84Vi4cJ2sSFnbqlQ/CJO3p4hgxaotNNvrU5I4oAKTTgo1XTsSHtjkJoRTiepVqxoBGQAPdo0VEBAlTeeHT3BR0bp4G4oTQmNZ+r3iTEESo0C33QGoPvqtzcV//Kase6ee2MmolhTQeaLujHHOsTTBHCHSUo0HxkCRDJzKyZ9kEC0ySllQvj8FP9Pam7eOc07N26mfLmII4kO0CHKIQeVUBldowqqIoLu0D16RE/W0Hqwnq2XeWvCWszsox+wXj8Al5yRVg==</latexit> f(n, t) <latexit sha1_base64="s3HQ9Y3q4srMtiOSFYRDm2hVhVw=">AAAB73icdVDJSgNBEO2JW4xb1KOXxihEkDAzJkZvQS8eI5gFkiH0dHqSJj09Y3eNEEJ+wosHRbz6O978GzuLuKAPCh7vVVFVz48F12Db71ZqYXFpeSW9mllb39jcym7v1HWUKMpqNBKRavpEM8ElqwEHwZqxYiT0BWv4g8uJ37hjSvNI3sAwZl5IepIHnBIwUvMgyMtjODroZHN2oVgqntsuNuTULRdLX8Qp2FPk0BzVTvat3Y1oEjIJVBCtW44dgzciCjgVbJxpJ5rFhA5Ij7UMlSRk2htN7x3jQ6N0cRApUxLwVP0+MSKh1sPQN50hgb7+7U3Ev7xWAsGZN+IyToBJOlsUJAJDhCfP4y5XjIIYGkKo4uZWTPtEEQomoowJ4fNT/D+puwXnpOBcu7nKxTyONNpD+yiPHFRGFXSFqqiGKBLoHj2iJ+vWerCerZdZa8qaz+yiH7BePwDKKo8o</latexit>
kinetic theory: (n) = ⌫A(n) <latexit sha1_base64="1xtYQz/5dr1o2esvbzj3aTVGxoA=">AAACAHicdZDLSsNAFIYn9VbrLerChZvBVqibkLTFtAuh4sZlBXuBppTJdNIOnUzCzEQopRtfxY0LRdz6GO58GydtBRX9YeDjP+dw5vx+zKhUtv1hZFZW19Y3spu5re2d3T1z/6Alo0Rg0sQRi0THR5IwyklTUcVIJxYEhT4jbX98ldbbd0RIGvFbNYlJL0RDTgOKkdJW3zwqeD5RqMjP4AX0eAIvU4SFvpm3rbJbq9TOoYaqW6rYC7DdGnQse648WKrRN9+9QYSTkHCFGZKy69ix6k2RUBQzMst5iSQxwmM0JF2NHIVE9qbzA2bwVDsDGERCP67g3P0+MUWhlJPQ150hUiP5u5aaf9W6iQqqvSnlcaIIx4tFQcKgimCaBhxQQbBiEw0IC6r/CvEICYSVziynQ/i6FP4PrZLllC3nppSvV5ZxZMExOAFF4AAX1ME1aIAmwGAGHsATeDbujUfjxXhdtGaM5cwh+CHj7RPpopP/</latexit> $\nu$ (impingement rate) is the number of gas molecules hitting the unit area in unit time and A(n) is the surface area of a cluster containing n molecules Cluster of size n 4/3⇡R3 = n4/3⇡r3 <latexit sha1_base64="lCqgg9v3vQ7diTH18XzL+1BouWM=">AAACB3icdVDLSgMxFM3UV62vUZeCBFvBVZ3pDE67EApuXFaxD2hryaRpG5rJDElGKEN3bvwVNy4UcesvuPNvTF+gogcC555zLzf3+BGjUlnWp5FaWl5ZXUuvZzY2t7Z3zN29mgxjgUkVhywUDR9JwignVUUVI41IEBT4jNT94cXEr98RIWnIb9QoIu0A9TntUYyUljrmYc49dWArovD61oHnkMNFLXSd65hZK+94Jbd0BjUpegXXmhHLK0E7b02RBXNUOuZHqxviOCBcYYakbNpWpNoJEopiRsaZVixJhPAQ9UlTU44CItvJ9I4xPNZKF/ZCoR9XcKp+n0hQIOUo8HVngNRA/vYm4l9eM1a9YjuhPIoV4Xi2qBczqEI4CQV2qSBYsZEmCAuq/wrxAAmElY4uo0NYXAr/J7VC3nby9lUhW3bncaTBATgCJ8AGHiiDS1ABVYDBPXgEz+DFeDCejFfjbdaaMuYz++AHjPcvERyVmQ==</latexit> R = rn1/3 <latexit sha1_base64="vUI26GIANkU6C2vFdD10DXqs/xI=">AAAB+HicdVDLSsNAFJ3UV62PRl26GWwFVzFpi2kXQsGNyyr2AW0sk+mkHTqZhJmJUEO/xI0LRdz6Ke78G6cPQUUPXDiccy/33uPHjEpl2x9GZmV1bX0ju5nb2t7ZzZt7+y0ZJQKTJo5YJDo+koRRTpqKKkY6sSAo9Blp++OLmd++I0LSiN+oSUy8EA05DShGSkt9M1+8hudQQH6bOqflabFvFmyr7NYqtTOoSdUtVewFsd0adCx7jgJYotE333uDCCch4QozJGXXsWPlpUgoihmZ5nqJJDHCYzQkXU05Con00vnhU3islQEMIqGLKzhXv0+kKJRyEvq6M0RqJH97M/Evr5uooOqllMeJIhwvFgUJgyqCsxTggAqCFZtogrCg+laIR0ggrHRWOR3C16fwf9IqWU7Zcq5KhXplGUcWHIIjcAIc4II6uAQN0AQYJOABPIFn4954NF6M10VrxljOHIAfMN4+AV9PkZQ=</latexit> A(n) = 4⇡R2 = 4⇡r2n2/3 = s1n2/3 <latexit sha1_base64="ygKOqssfF7ZjoIce5gNBCHYEsV0=">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</latexit> u Cylinder with unit cross-sectional area and height u ⌫ = R 1 0 u.1.(N/V ). (u)du <latexit sha1_base64="ik87hTxvFX6M/noi7/Cas5IuUT0=">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</latexit> Maxwell velocity distribution ⌫ = pv p 2⇡m1kBT <latexit sha1_base64="XikqDZ/9brdb1OMlyQa5sikijpY=">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</latexit> (n) = pv p 2⇡m1kBT s1n2/3 <latexit sha1_base64="jOjcUHAGUu5Nc6FLRldmRaw2I8Y=">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</latexit> Evaporation rate is a priori not known
1 (n,t)feq(n) ] 1 <latexit sha1_base64="llVo8TyOTb93leVUFM8jwjFS3dM=">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</latexit> Now since we know condensation rate, to know the nucleation rate we need to know equilibrium cluster distribution Equilibrium cluster distribution: Probability of occurring an equilibrium cluster distribution p(n) = feq(n) f1 / exp[ W (n) kBT ] <latexit sha1_base64="set92RxvPVryqyVa6Kk/NIT7NrE=">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</latexit> W(n) is the minimum work required to form a n-molecule cluster feq(n) = f1 exp[ W (n) kBT ] <latexit sha1_base64="8e9OU8VuMT+pMCYzOWaO9EeBAuo=">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</latexit> f1 is the concentration of single molecule clusters i.e., metastable bulk phase because for such clusters W(1) = 0
➤ Using thermodynamics at the few molecule level ➤ Liquid phase (embryo) is homogeneous and spherical in shape ➤ The density of the liquid phase is same as bulk phase ➤ Capillarity approximation: The interface between the bulk phase and liquid phase is sharp ➤ No impact of curvature on surface tension ➤ Liquid is incompressible