Analysis of experimental data for the nucleation rate of water droplets.
A formula for the stationary nucleation rate J is proposed and used for analysis of experimental data for the dependence of J on the supersaturation ratio S in isothermal homogeneous nucleation of water droplets in vapors. It is found that the experimental data are described quite successfully by the proposed formula which is based on (i) the Gibbs presentation of the nucleation work in terms of overpressure, (ii) the Girshick-Chiu [J. Chem. Phys. 93, 1273 (1990); 94, 826 (1991)] self-consistency correction to the equilibrium cluster size distribution, and (iii) the Reguera-Rubi [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 7100 (2001)] kinetic accounting of the nucleus translational-rotational motion. The formula, like that of Wolk and Strey [J. Phys. Chem. B 105, 11683 (2001)], could be used as a semiempirical relation describing the J(S) dependence for nucleation in vapors of single-component droplets or crystals of substances with insufficiently well known equations of state.
Kashchiev
Dimo
D
Institute of Physical Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, ul. Acad. G. Bonchev 11, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria. kash@ipc.bas.bg