Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026
09:52
Optimizing the Growth of Endothiapepsin Crystals for Serial Crystallography Experiments
Published on: February 4, 2021
Unraveling the "pressure effect" in nucleation
Jan Wedekind1, Antti-Pekka Hyvärinen, David Brus
1Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, Barcelona, Spain. janw@ffn.ub.es
Physical Review Letters
|October 15, 2008
Summary
The pressure of inert carrier gases has a confusing effect on gas-liquid nucleation. Our model explains this by showing how nonisothermal effects and pressure-volume work compete, resolving experimental contradictions.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering
- Thermodynamics
Background:
- Gas-liquid nucleation is a fundamental process in nature and technology.
- The influence of carrier gas pressure on nucleation rate is a long-standing puzzle, with experimental results varying significantly.
- Previous studies have yielded contradictory findings regarding the effect of inert gas pressure on nucleation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To resolve the ambiguity in experimental observations of carrier gas pressure effects on nucleation rate.
- To develop a model that explains the seemingly contradictory trends observed in nucleation experiments.
- To quantify the impact of ambient gas on the nucleation ability of a substance.
Main Methods:
- Development of a theoretical model incorporating nonisothermal effects and pressure-volume work.
- Analysis of the competition between these two contributions to nucleation.
- Validation of the model using molecular dynamics simulations.
Main Results:
- The model demonstrates that the ambiguous effect of carrier gas pressure arises from the interplay of nonisothermal effects and pressure-volume work.
- It successfully reconciles contradictory experimental findings for various substances and conditions.
- The study quantifies how ambient gas pressure modulates nucleation ability.
Conclusions:
- The developed model provides a unified explanation for the varied influence of inert carrier gases on nucleation.
- This work clarifies a significant puzzle in nucleation research and offers a predictive tool.
- Findings have broad implications for understanding and controlling nucleation in experiments, industrial applications, and natural phenomena.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Excess Pressure Inside a Drop and a Bubble
The shape of a small drop of liquid can be considered spherical, neglecting the effect of gravity. This drop can further be considered as two equal hemispherical drops put together due to surface tension. The forces acting on the spherical drop are due to the pressure of the liquid inside the drop, the pressure due to air outside the drop, and the force due to the surface tension acting on the two hemispherical drops.
04:01Real Gases: Effects of Intermolecular Forces and Molecular Volume Deriving Van der Waals Equation
Thus far, the ideal gas law, PV = nRT, has been applied to a variety of different types of problems, ranging from reaction stoichiometry and empirical and molecular formula problems to determining the density and molar mass of a gas. However, the behavior of a gas is often non-ideal, meaning that the observed relationships between its pressure, volume, and temperature are not accurately described by the gas laws.
01:10Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria
Recrystallization is a purification technique used to separate impurities from solid compounds. In this technique, no chemical reactions occur. Instead, it exploits physical properties only, specifically, the solubility differences between the desired compound and impurities, either at a single temperature or at different temperatures, and under other selected conditions. The solid-solution equilibrium (solubility equilibrium) of each component in the solution represents a binary phase...
02:34Vapor Pressure
When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules move randomly about, they will occasionally collide with the surface of the condensed phase, and in some cases, these collisions will result in the molecules re-entering the condensed phase. The change from the gas phase to the liquid is called condensation. When the rate of condensation becomes equal to the rate of vaporization, neither the amount of the liquid nor the amount of the vapor...
03:28Vapor Pressure Lowering
The equilibrium vapor pressure of a liquid is the pressure exerted by its gaseous phase when vaporization and condensation are occurring at equal rates: Dissolving a nonvolatile substance in volatile liquid results in a lowering of the liquid’s vapor pressure. This phenomenon can be explained by considering the effect of added solute molecules on the liquid's vaporization and condensation processes. To vaporize, solvent molecules must be present at the surface of the solution. The presence of...
01:16Precipitate Formation and Particle Size Control
In precipitation gravimetry, the precipitating agent should react specifically or selectively with the analyte. While a specific reagent reacts with the analyte alone, a selective reagent can react with a limited number of chemical species.
The obtained precipitate should be either a pure substance of known composition or easily converted to one by a simple process, such as ignition or drying. In addition, the precipitate should be insoluble and easily filterable. In general, filterability...
The obtained precipitate should be either a pure substance of known composition or easily converted to one by a simple process, such as ignition or drying. In addition, the precipitate should be insoluble and easily filterable. In general, filterability...