Soluble-insoluble transition in binary heterogeneous nucleation - art. no.225703

In this Letter, we report the first experimental study of binary heterogene ous gas-liquid nucleation. Onset activities were obtained for nucleation of various n-propanol-water vapor mixtures on 6.9 mn NaCl particles soluble i n water and practically insoluble in n-propanol. The Fletcher theory of vap or nucleation on insoluble particles provided a reasonable approximation fo r n-propanol rich mixtures only, whereas the Kohler theory of activation of soluble particles worked only for water rich mixtures. A new theory was fo rmulated providing a satisfactory description of the transition from activa tion of soluble particles to vapor nucleation on insoluble particles.