Particle formation by the dilution method using a miscible non-solvent

Particle formation by mixing a solution containing nucleated monomers with a miscible non-solvent, a procedure known as the dilution method, has been investigated in order to check the validity of our previous model of homogeneous nucleation where the growth rate of nuclei is controlled by the diffusion of monomers. Two types of experiments have been carried out: (i) preparation of sulfur particles by mixing a sulfur solution with pure water (which is a miscible non-solvent for sulfur) and (ii) generation of lead chloride particles by mixing a lead chloride solution with ethanol (a miscible non-solvent for lead chloride). In both cases, the experimentally measured particle number concentration and mean volume diameter are in good agreement with the predictions of the model. Our model can thus be applied also to particle preparation by the dilution method.