A Molecular Dynamics Study of the Nucleation and Growth Process in an Exothermically Reacting System

Abstract
An exothermic isomerization reaction expressed as A B is studied with the molecular dynamics method for a system of about 10,000 hard disks. Two types of pattern formations are observed during the relaxation processes from initial nonequilibrium states: one is a rapid and homogeneous pattern formation like a spinodal decomposition; and the other is a nucleation and growth process. In the latter case, the radius of the domain grows linearly with time. A suggested growth mechanism for this process is presented.