UNCERTAINTIES IN CLUSTER ENERGIES IN HOMOGENEOUS NUCLEATION THEORY

A statistical mechanical theory of homogeneous nucleation is developed based on a cluster potential energy which is independent of the position of the molecules in the cluster. The way in which the potential energy vanishes for clusters consisting of single monomers is shown to have an appreciable effect on the nucleation rate. Various possible models are obtained which have similarities to several other models in the literature. By equating constants in the potential with bulk values for the latent heat and surface tension, predictions of the model can be obtained. The theory predicts a temperature dependent enhancement of the nucleation rate compared to classical theory and shows better agreement with experimental data for some, but not all substances.