DIFFUSE INTERFACE THEORY FOR HOMOGENEOUS VAPOR CONDENSATION

The excess free energy of nuclei is evaluated in terms of a characteri stic interface thickness related to bulk physical properties. A curvat ure correction to the surface tension of nuclei up to second order in terms of the characteristic thickness is obtained. A nucleation theory free of adjustable parameters is presented. The predictions are compa red with experiments on homogeneous condensation of nonpolar (nonane, toluene, Ar), polar (water, alcohols), and metal (Fe, Pb, Hg, Cs) vapo rs. For molecular liquids the applicability of the theory correlates w ith the surface entropy. In case of nonpolar, weakly polar, and metall ic substances the experiments are described better than by the classic al theory. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.