Studies of concentrated electrolyte solutions using the electrodynamic balance. 3. Solute nucleation

Abstract

The nucleation of crystals from aqueous solution has been investigated for several common inorganic salts alone and in mixtures. Single, charged solution droplets approximately 20 µm in diameter were suspended in an electrodynamic balance and continuously weighed. The solute concentration in the droplet was changed by adjusting the relative humidity of the air surrounding the particle. Nucleation theory was used to estimate the surface excess free energy and critical nucleus size from the measured supersaturation at which nucleation occurred.

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