Comparison of the interfacial energy and pre-exponential factor calculated from the induction time and metastable zone width data based on classical nucleation theory

Abstract

The pre-exponential factor and interfacial energy obtained from the metastable zone width (MSZW) data using the integral method proposed by Shiau and Lu [1] are compared in this study with those obtained from the induction time data using the conventional method (ti∝J−1) for three crystallization systems, including potassium sulfate in water in a 200mL vessel, borax decahydrate in water in a 100mL vessel and butyl paraben in ethanol in a 5mL tube. The results indicate that the pre-exponential factor and interfacial energy calculated from the induction time data based on classical nucleation theory are consistent with those calculated from the MSZW data using the same detection technique for the studied systems.