Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Ligand-Mediated Nucleation and Growth of Palladium Metal Nanoparticles
Published on: June 25, 2018
On the thermodynamic expansion of the nucleation free-energy barrier
1Department of Nuclear, DA-CMT, HMS Sultan, Military Road, Gosport PO12 3BY, United Kingdom. barrettjc@aol.com
Abstract:
Mean field density functional theory is used to calculate the nucleation free-energy barrier height, W( *), in vapor-liquid nucleation as a function of the excess chemical potential Deltamu. Calculations are performed for a range of temperatures and for both Lennard-Jones and Yukawa interactions, scaled to give the same bulk properties. The leading terms in the expansion of W( *) in powers of Deltamu depend on the planar surface tension and the planar limit of the Tolman length, which are obtained from density functional calculations for planar interfaces. The first correction term to the large cluster (classical) limit is proportional to (Deltamu)(-1) and is shown to be significant. For the Lennard-Jones interaction, W( *) also includes a term proportional to ln(Deltamu). Once the leading terms are subtracted from W( *), the residual is almost independent of Deltamu. For the Yukawa fluid, values for this residual are compared to values found using a new formula for the rigidity constants and satisfactory agreement is found.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Heat and Free Expansion
Gibbs Free Energy
Thermal Expansion
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Thermodynamic Potentials

