Photoinduced nucleation of supersaturated vapors in the presence of carbon disulfide

With illumination by ultraviolet light in the 280-390-nm wavelength region, copious nucleation is observed in supersaturated vapors containing carbon disulfide. This photoinduced nucleation cannot be explained by conventional nucleation theories nor by the photochemistry of CS₂. We suggest that the nucleation is initiated by the clustering of photoaffected CS₂ molecules, and that these molecules may be stable complexes formed by an interaction of the photoexcited CS₂ and host vapor molecules.