Density Functional Theory of Inhomogeneous Liquids: III. Liquid-Vapor Nucleation
arXiv:0807.4047 · doi:10.1063/1.3043570
Abstract
The process of nucleation of vapor bubbles from a superheated liquid and of liquid droplets from a supersaturated vapor is investigated using the Modified-Core van der Waals model Density Functional Theory (Lutsko, JCP 128, 184711 (2008)). A novel approach is developed whereby nucleation is viewed as a transition from a metastable state to a stable state via the minimum free energy path which is identified using the nudged elastic-band method for exploring free energy surfaces. This allows for the unbiased calculation of the properties of sub- and super-critical clusters, as well as of the critical cluster. For Lennard-Jones fluids, the results compare well to simulation and support the view that even at high supersaturation nucleation proceeds smoothly rather than via spinodal-like instabilities as has been suggested recently.
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