Kinetics of transient nucleation in glass-forming liquids: a retrospective and recent results

A survey is made of the progress of ideas and results obtained over the last 30 years in the generalized, non-steady-state treatment of the nucleation process. Emphasis is given to solutions directly connecting theory and experiment (e.g., via the introduction of the concept of the experimentally perceptible nucleated cluster size). A summary is made of recent developments in which the influence of external fields and of promoters of nucleation (active sites, surfactants) on nucleation kinetics is examined. Results verifying the classic concepts and new developments in transient nucleation, and especially the problems of overall kinetics of melt crystallization, are discussed in detail. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.