Interpretation of the droplet growth rate of water, propanole and zirconiaby a thermodynamic and kinetic model of chemical reactions in cluster formation

A phenomenological thermodynamic and kinetic description of chemical reacti ons in cluster formation from the vapour phase is applied to the growth of droplets. This theory takes into account the consumption of the reactants a s the reaction proceeds. The surface of the Helmholtz free energy of cluste r formation as a function of cluster size and cluster concentration is calc ulated. This surface exhibits a bottom. The bottom is assumed to be the pat hway of the reaction. A general kinetic rate equation is presented for chem ical reactions following this pathway. Experimental results for the growth of small droplets of water and propanole in a piston expansion tube as well as of zirconia particles after laser evaporation of bulk zirconia are comp ared to the model considerations. A strong correlation was found to obtain between the experiments and the theory.