Search

Measurements are reported of the critical supersaturation necessary to initiate the vapor phase nucleation of silver over the ambient temperature range 500-950 K at total pressures of 250 and 500 torr of hydrogen. The results are compared with the predictions of both classical nucleation theory and the theory of a physical spinodal developed by Rasmussen (1982), neither of which adequately describes the present observations. The nucleation of silver appears to be dependent on the total pressure of the system in a manner which suggests that three-body reactions are necessary in order to form the initial silver cluster (e.g., dimers) from the monoatomic vapor.

The critical partial pressure of SiO necessary to initiate avalanche nucleation in the SiO-H2 system is measured as a function of the ambient temperature in the range 750-1000 K. Results show that the condensate produced at low temperatures is Si2O3, while a mixture of Si2O3 and amorphous SiO2 is produced at high temperatures. A surface energy of approximately 500 ergs/sq cm for the particles is found by analyzing the critical partial pressure vs temperature using classical nucleation theory. It is concluded that classical nucleation theory is not applicable to this system, because several inconsistencies in the thermodynamic analysis are demonstrated, and it is suggested that a kinetic theory of nucleation may be the preferential way to describe the condensation process.