Non-isothermal nucleation of triacylglycerol melts

Abstract

To model the non-isothermal nucleation behavior of triacylglycerol mixtures, we define the supercooling-time potential ( β) experienced by the system to the onset of nucleation, which corresponds to the area under the Supercooling-Time-Trajectory. Here, we show that the nucleation rate, determined from image analysis of polarized light micrographs of the nucleating birefringent material, is an exponential function of the square root of β and inversely proportional to the square root of the cooling rate. The normalized nucleation rate vs. β profiles were identical for all systems studied, falling onto a single master curve, with an energy of activation of ∼24.8 kJ/mol.