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07:02
Studying the Effects of Temperature on the Nucleation and Growth of Nanoparticles by Liquid-Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: February 17, 2021
The role of temperature in nucleation processes
J H ter Horst1, D Bedeaux, S Kjelstrup
1Process & Energy Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, Leeghwaterstraat 44, 2628CA Delft, The Netherlands. J.H.terHorst@tudelft.nl
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|February 10, 2011
Summary
Nonisothermal nucleation involves coupled heat and mass transfer. This study quantizes nucleation rates, finding nonisothermal effects slightly reduce rates compared to isothermal conditions.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Nucleation is a critical process in phase transitions.
- Heat and mass transfer are intrinsically linked during nucleation.
- Existing models often assume isothermal conditions, neglecting temperature variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a theoretical framework for nonisothermal nucleation.
- To quantify the impact of temperature differences on nucleation rates.
- To investigate the coupling between heat and mass transfer in nucleation.
Main Methods:
- Application of mesoscopic nonequilibrium thermodynamics.
- Derivation of an expression for nonisothermal nucleation rate.
- Solving coupled heat and mass transport equations for stationary nucleation.
Main Results:
- An expression for nonisothermal nucleation rate was derived for a one-component system.
- The generally accepted isothermal nucleation rate is a limiting case.
- A factor predicting deviations between isothermal and nonisothermal nucleation was defined.
Conclusions:
- Nonisothermal effects lead to smaller nucleation rates than isothermal assumptions, particularly in droplet nucleation from vapor.
- The defined factor indicates small deviations under stationary conditions.
- Further investigation under different boundary conditions may reveal larger thermal effects.
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