Supersaturation

Supersaturation is a state of a solution that contains more of the dissolved material than could be dissolved by the solvent under normal circumstances. It can also refer to a vapor of a compound that has a higher (partial) pressure than the vapor pressure of that compound.

Special conditions need to be met in order to generate a supersaturated solution. One of the easiest ways to do this relies on the temperature dependence of solubility. As a general rule, the more heat is added to a system, the more soluble a substance becomes. (There are exceptions where the opposite is true). Therefore, at high temperatures, more solute can be dissolved than at room temperature. If this solution were to be suddenly cooled at a rate faster than the rate of precipitation, the solution will become supersaturated until the solute precipitates to the temperature-determined saturation point. The precipitation or crystallization of the solute takes longer than the actual cooling time because the molecules need to meet up and form the precipitate without being knocked apart by water. Thus, the larger the molecule, the longer it will take to crystallize due to the principles of Brownian motion.

The condition of supersaturation does not necessarily have to be reached through the manipulation of heat. The ideal gas law

suggests that pressure and volume can also be changed to force a system into a supersaturated state. If the volume of solvent is decreased, the concentration of the solute can be above the saturation point and thus create a supersaturated solution. The decrease in volume is most commonly generated through evaporation. Similarly, an increase in pressure can drive a solution to a supersaturated state. All three of these mechanisms rely on the fact that the conditions of the solution can be changed quicker than the solute can precipitate or crystallize out.

...
Wikipedia