Formation of crystal nuclei near critical supersaturation in small volumes.

This work deals with the nucleation of crystals in confined systems in response to the recent high interest in research on crystallization in emulsion and microemulsion droplets. In these confined systems, crystallization often occurs at high supercooling; thus, nucleation determines the overall crystallization process. A decrease in the volume of the confined mother phase leads to the higher supercooling needed for the phase transition.

Homogeneous nucleation of droplets from supersaturated vapor in a closed system.

Kinetic equations describing homogeneous nucleation kinetics within standard model are solved numerically under the condition of a constant number of molecules in the considered system. It has consequences to decrease the supersaturation of the supersaturated vapor during the process of the formation of small droplets of a new phase. The decrease of supersaturation occurs in a short time and reaches some value which remains unchanged for a relatively long time (quasistationary regime), especially at lower initial supersaturations.