Question

A supersaturated solution is a metastable state of solution in which solute concentration

Answer 1

Answer:

Supersaturation is the driving force for crystallization and is a prerequisite before a solid phase will appear in a saturated solution. Figure 1. shows the situation for a cooling crystallization. At point 1 the system is under saturated and the concentration of dissolved solute is below the solubility curve defined by Eq 3. As the system cools it becomes saturated at point 2 but remains as a metastable liquid phase until the metastable zone is crossed at point 3, where crystals of the solute will spontaneously form. This process is called nucleation and its kinetic origins are described in the following section.