Photoinduced nucleation of supersaturated vapors in the presence of carbon disulfide

Abstract

With illumination by ultraviolet light in the 280-390-nm wavelength region, copious nucleation is observed in supersaturated vapors containing carbon disulfide. This photoinduced nucleation cannot be explained by conventional nucleation theories nor by the photochemistry of C${\mathrm{S}}_{2}$. We suggest that the nucleation is initiated by the clustering of photoaffected C${\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ molecules, and that these molecules may be stable complexes formed by an interaction of the photoexcited C${\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ and host vapor molecules.