Homogeneous Binary Nucleation Theory and the Structure of Binary Nanodroplets

Author

Gerald Wilemski, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

The structure of a critical nucleus or a larger post-critical droplet refers to the spatial distributions of the different chemical species within the droplet. Structure directly affects the free energy of formation of droplets. This has a strong effect on the nucleation rate as well as on the rates of droplet growth and evaporation. Structure also affects how aerosol droplets interact with their environment, influencing phenomena such as heterogeneous chemistry, trace gas adsorbtion and uptake, and the radiative properties of larger droplets. This paper briefly reviews recent advances in understanding the structure of critical nuclei in highly nonideal binary systems. It then focuses on recent theoretical work to predict the structure of larger binary nanodroplets using density functional theory (DFT) and lattice Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of model aqueous-organic mixtures.

Recommended Citation

G. Wilemski, "Homogeneous Binary Nucleation Theory and the Structure of Binary Nanodroplets," Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols, Springer Verlag, Jan 2007.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6475-3_55

Department(s)

Physics

Keywords and Phrases

Binary Nucleation; Homogeneous Nucleation; Nanodroplets and Clusters

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2007 Springer Verlag, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2007