Atomistic simulation of the homogeneous nucleation and of the growth of $N2$ crystallites

We report on a computer simulation study of the early stages of the crystallization of molecular nitrogen. First, we study how homogeneous nucleation takes place in supercooled liquid $N2$ for a moderate degree of supercooling. Using the umbrella sampling technique, we determine the free energy barrier of formation for a critical nucleus of $N2$⁠. We show that, in accord with Ostwald’s rule of stages, the structure of the critical nucleus is predominantly that of a metastable polymorph (⁠$α-N2$ for the state point investigated). We then monitor the evolution of several critical nuclei through a series of unbiased molecular dynamics trajectories. The growth of $N2$ crystallites is accompanied by a structural evolution toward the stable polymorph $β-N2$⁠. The microscopic mechanism underlying this evolution qualitatively differs from that reported previously. We do not observe any dissolution or reorganization of the $α$-like core of the nucleus. On the contrary, we show that $α$-like and $β$-like blocks coexist in postcritical nuclei. We relate the structural evolution to a greater adsorption rate of $β$-like molecules on the surface and show that this transition actually starts well within the precritical regime. We also carefully investigate the effect of the system size on the height of the free energy barrier of nucleation and on the structure and size of the critical nucleus.