A simple model of burst nucleation.

We introduce a comprehensive quantitative treatment for burst nucleation (BN)-a kinetic pathway toward self-assembly or crystallization defined by an extended post-supersaturation induction period, followed by a burst of nucleation, and finally the growth of existing stable assemblages absent the formation of new ones-based on a hybrid mean field rate equation model incorporating thermodynamic treatment of the saturated solvent from classical nucleation theory. A key element is the inclusion of a concentration-dependent critical nucleus size, determined self-consistently along with the subcritical cluster population density. The model is applied to an example experimental study of crystallization in tetracene films prepared by organic vapor-liquid-solid deposition, where good agreement is observed with several aspects of the experiment using a single, physically well-defined adjustable parameter. The model predicts many important features of the experiment, and can be generalized to describe other self-organizing systems exhibiting BN kinetics.