Solving the Classical Nucleation Theory with respect to the surface energy

Abstract

An essential parameter of the Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT) is the surface energy between a critical-size nucleus and the ambient phase, $\sigma$. In condensed matter, this parameter cannot be experimentally determined independently of CNT. A common practice to obtain $\sigma$ is to assume a model for its temperature-dependence and perform a regression of the CNT equation against experimental nucleation data. The drawback of this practice is that assuming the temperature-dependence of $\sigma$ adds a bias to the analysis. Nonetheless, this practice is common because an analytical solution of the Classical Nucleation Theory with respect to $\sigma$ is not possible considering common expressions of this theory. In this article, a general numerical solution to this problem using the Lambert $W$ function is proposed, tested, and compared with typical regression methods. The major advantage of the proposed method is that there is no need to assume a model for the temperature-dependence of $\sigma$.