Kinetics of nucleation in a binary liquid mixture

Abstract

Using a microscope, we have studied the formation and growth of nuclei in a supercooled binary liquid mixture of 2,6-lutidine and water close to the critical point. The results have been compared with a recent theoretical prediction by Langer and Schwartz. Although the observed growth is in good agreement with the diffusion model they used, their predicted nucleation rates remain untested. Our most important finding is the clear experimental evidence of the effect of critical slowing down on the phase-separation process in the nucleation regime. These observations thus account for the anomalously large supercoolings reported in liquids and binary mixtures near the critical point.