Heterogeneous nucleation of supercooled water, and the effect of an added catalyst.
The statistics of liquid-to-crystal nucleation are measured rigorously by using a recently developed automated lag-time apparatus (ALTA). A single sample, in this case a sample of pure water both with and without an (insoluble) AgI crystal, is repeatedly cooled, nucleated, and thawed. Analysis of the data, coupled with a second kind of experiment, shows that the statistics of nucleation are consistent with a first-order kinetic mechanism over a wide range of supercooling temperatures. The limitations of classical nucleation theory are exhibited. Our analysis unifies many related experiments in biology, physics, chemistry, and chemical engineering.
Department of Chemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-5003, USA.
A F
AF
Heneghan
P W
PW
Wilson
A D J
AD
Haymet
D002384:Catalysis; D003460:Crystallization; D007700:Kinetics; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D014867:Water