Isothermal Kinetics of Phase Nucleation and Growth
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Abstract
So far, we have looked at the cases of thermodynamic equilibrium of phases. As we learned in Chap. 2, if the conditions in the system change (e.g., temperature drops), then a previously stable homogeneous state may become metastable (or even unstable) and transform into a stable one. In the transformation process, the initial parent phase is progressively replaced by a product phase. In his seminal treatise, Gibbs [1] identified two different scenarios of how a metastable (or unstable) phase may transform into a stable one. Both scenarios involve reaction of the system on infinitesimal changes inspired by thermal fluctuations. In the first scenario, the critical role is played by the fluctuations large in degree but small in extent; this scenario is called nucleation. There are good reasons to separate this scenario into three consecutive steps of nucleation, growth, and coarsening. The first two steps of this scenario are considered in this chapter, and the third step is the subject of Chap. 5. In the second scenario, the critical fluctuations are infinitesimal in degree but large in extent; this is called spinodal decomposition and will be considered in Chap. 6.
Recommended Citation
Umantsev, Alexander, "Isothermal Kinetics of Phase Nucleation and Growth" (2023). College of Health, Science, and Technology. 308.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/college_health_science_technology/308