Microscopic Surface Tension in the Classical Nucleation Theory

The surface tension of liquid clusters in the Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT) is investigated using the Gibbs adsorption isotherm. A theoretical derivation is given that shows the relation between macroscopic (plain-surface) surface tension and the surface tension of microscopic spherical clusters of the CNT. An exemplary water – ethanol binary condensing system is studied. It is shown that by using the microscopic surface tension in nucleation calculations an exceptional agreement between theoretical and experimental nucleation rates is achieved