title: Quantitative characterization of critical nanoclusters nucleated on large single molecules.
abstract: First order phase transitions involve nucleation, formation of nanoscale regions of a new phase within a metastable parent phase. Using the heterogeneous nucleation theorem we show how clusters formed by nucleation on single molecules evolve from the gas phase and determine the critical size beyond which condensation starts to form aerosol particles. Our experiments reveal the activation of molecules into droplets to happen via formation of critical clusters substantially larger than the seed molecule. The nanosized critical clusters were found to be well predicted by the Kelvin-Thomson relation pointing directly to the key step in the phase transition.
authors.affiliation: Fakultät für Physik, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria. pwinkler@ucar.edu
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.forename: Aron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vrtala
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wimmer
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vehkamäki
authors.forename: Kari E J
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Lehtinen
authors.forename: Georg P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Reischl
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulmala
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Wagner