Phase transitions in fluctuations and their role in two-step nucleation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how local fluctuations in multi-phase systems undergo phase transitions as they grow, revealing their role in two-step nucleation and clarifying the underlying thermodynamic mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of fluctuation phase transitions (FPT) in multi-phase systems and demonstrates their occurrence and impact on two-step nucleation through simulations and theoretical analysis.

Findings

FPT can occur in stable or metastable phases.

FPT is a first-order transition with well-defined spinodals.

FPT explains the mechanisms behind two-step nucleation.

Abstract

We consider the thermodynamic behavior of local fluctuations occurring in a stable or metastable bulk phase. For a system with three or more phases, a simple analysis based on classical nucleation theory predicts that small fluctuations always resemble the phase having the lowest surface tension with the surrounding bulk phase, regardless of the relative chemical potentials of the phases. We also identify the conditions at which a fluctuation may convert to a different phase as its size increases, referred to here as a "fluctuation phase transition" (FPT). We demonstrate these phenonena in simulations of a two dimensional lattice model by evaluating the free energy surface that describes the thermodynamic properties of a fluctuation as a function of its size and phase composition. We show that a FPT can occur in the fluctuations of either a stable or metastable bulk phase and that the transition is first-order. We also find that the FPT is bracketed by well-defined spinodals, which place limits on the size of fluctuations of distinct phases. Furthermore, when the FPT occurs in a metastable bulk phase, we show that the superposition of the FPT on the nucleation process results in two-step nucleation (TSN). We identify distinct regimes of TSN based on the nucleation pathway in the free energy surface, and correlate these regimes to the phase diagram of the bulk system. Our results clarify the origin of TSN, and elucidate a wide variety of phenomena associated with TSN, including the Ostwald step rule.