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Binary Homogeneous Nucleation in Selected Aqueous Vapor Mixtures

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Abstract

The objective of this article is to give an overview of available experimental techniques and theoretical fundaments of the classical theories of homogeneous binary nucleation. The principles of the experimental setups are reviewed, ranging from low-nucleation-rate (≤103 nuclei/(cm3⋅s)) devices, i.e., thermal-diffusion cloud chamber, expansion chamber, over-nucleation pulse technique, and nozzle flow, to the condensation wave technique which is applied for the fastest nucleation rates (∼1015 nuclei⋅(cm3⋅s)−1). The theoretical description is based on the capillary approximation and takes into account the real properties of fluids (liquid mixtures) including the effects of non-equilibrium processes. A very important effect is associated with the surface tension dependence on the concentration of admixtures that can have a serious impact on the value of the nucleus formation energy. In the case of surfactants (i.e., molecules that can transiently bond with water through hydrogen bonding, e.g., alcohols) the nucleation work is decreased and for inorganic salts (hydrophobic molecules tend to be non-polar) the nucleation work is increased. The theoretical results are compared with the available experimental data. Also, the role of salts in power plant chemistry is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Thermomechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Dolejškova 5, 182 00, Praha 8, Czech Republic

    František Maršík, Tomáš Němec & Jan Hrubý

  2. Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Cukrovarnická 10, 162 53, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Pavel Demo & Zdeněk Kožíšek

  3. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 4, 166 07, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Václav Petr & Michal Kolovratník

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  1. František Maršík
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  2. Tomáš Němec
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  3. Jan Hrubý
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  4. Pavel Demo
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  7. Michal Kolovratník
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Correspondence to František Maršík.

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Maršík, F., Němec, T., Hrubý, J. et al. Binary Homogeneous Nucleation in Selected Aqueous Vapor Mixtures. J Solution Chem 37, 1671–1708 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10953-008-9337-4

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