Early stages of glacial clustering in supercooled triphenyl phosphite

Glacial phase clustering and growth in triphenyl phosphite is observed in the temperature interval of 210 K to 214 K by small angle neutron scattering performed at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. Presented are the radius, volume fraction, and polydispersity of clusters of glacial phase surrounded by a supercooled liquid. The data can be interpreted in a four-step model of (I) cluster formation, (II) rapid nucleation, (III) agglomeration, and finally (IV) saturation. Two schemes of cluster growth can be identified. The first one is a region of radius stagnation (II), which is followed by a region of volume stagnation (III). Competition between the increase in cluster size and the increase in the number of clusters is deduced from this behavior.