Abstract
The dynamics of long term phase separation in binary liquid mixtures remains a subject of fundamental interest. Here, we study a binary liquid mixture, where the minority phase is confined to a liquid crystal (LC)-rich droplet, by investigating the evolution of size, defect and mesogen alignment over time. We track the binary liquid mixture evolving towards equilibrium by visualising the configuration of the liquid crystal droplet through polarisation microscopy. We compare our experimental findings with computational simulations and elucidate differences between bulk and conf ined droplets based on the respective thermodynamics of phase separation. Our work provides insights on how phase transitions on the microscale can deviate from bulk phase diagrams with relevance to other material systems, such as the liquid–liquid phase separation of polymer and protein solutions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1017-1024 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Soft Matter |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Early online date | 9 Jan 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 9 Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:M. P. Acknowledges funding as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Molecular Modelling and Materials Science (EP/L015862/1) in support of BASF SE. AFN is grateful for support by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER, 289 (Grant No. PID2021-122369NB-100).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.