Comment on "Multicomponent nucleation: Thermodynamically consistent description of the nucleation work" [J. Chem. Phys. 120, 3749 (2004)].

Abstract

In the above cited paper, Kashchiev extends the "thermodynamically consistent" description of nucleation work to phase formation processes in multicomponent systems. It is claimed that this approach is generally applicable widely independent on the kind of phase transformation considered. In contrast to this statement, it is shown in our Comment that Kashchiev's approach is theoretically not well founded. It contains, in addition, a number of assumptions, which are not generally fulfilled. Because of this his method cannot give, in general, a satisfactory determination of the work of critical cluster formation in nucleation theory. An experimental example is given verifying our conclusions.