Phase separation microscopic

Although in principle the microscopic Hamiltonian contains the infonnation necessary to describe the phase separation kinetics, in practice the large number of degrees of freedom in the system makes it necessary to construct a reduced description. Generally, a subset of slowly varying macrovariables, such as the hydrodynamic modes, is a usefiil starting point. The equation of motion of the macrovariables can, in principle, be derived from the microscopic... 

Overney R M, Meyer E, Frommer J, Brodbeck D, Luthi R, Flowald L, Guntherodt Fl-J, Fu]ihara M, Takano FI and Gotoh Y 1992 Friction measurements of phase separated thin films with a modified atomic force microscope Nature... 

Models of a second type (Sec. IV) restrict themselves to a few very basic ingredients, e.g., the repulsion between oil and water and the orientation of the amphiphiles. They are less versatile than chain models and have to be specified in view of the particular problem one has in mind. On the other hand, they allow an efficient study of structures on intermediate length and time scales, while still establishing a connection with microscopic properties of the materials. Hence, they bridge between the microscopic approaches and the more phenomenological treatments which will be described below. Various microscopic models of this type have been constructed and used to study phase transitions in the bulk of amphiphihc systems, internal phase transitions in monolayers and bilayers, interfacial properties, and dynamical aspects such as the kinetics of phase separation between water and oil in the presence of amphiphiles. 

The thud step gives a polymer-rich phase forming the membrane, and a polymer-depleted phase forming the pores. The ultimate membrane structure results as a combination of phase separation and mass transfer, variation of the production conditions giving membranes with different separation characteristics. Most MF membranes have a systematic pore structure, and they can have porosity as high as 80%.11,12Figure 16.6 shows an atomic force microscope... 

We have recently initiated our investigation of blends by examining the compatibility between our modified polymer sample 4 and poly(methyl methacrylate). Mixtures with a composition of between 10% and 30% of sample 4 yield compatible blends which are transparent under a polarized light microscope, and are characterized by a single Tg. Mixtures richer than 60% of 4 undergo complete phase separation. 

The Gibbs Ensemble MC simulation methodology [17-19] enables direct simulations of phase equilibria in fluids. A schematic diagram of the technique is shown in Fig. 10.1. Let us consider a macroscopic system with two phases coexisting at equilibrium. Gibbs ensemble simulations are performed in two separate microscopic regions, each within periodic boundary conditions (denoted by the dashed lines in Fig. 10.1). The thermodynamic requirements for phase coexistence are that each... 

Explicit forms for the stress tensors d1 are deduced from the microscopic expressions for the component stress tensors and from the scheme of the total stress devision between the components [164]. Within this model almost all essential features of the viscoelastic phase separation observable experimentally can be reproduced [165] (see Fig. 20) existence of a frozen period after the quench nucleation of the less viscous phase in a droplet pattern the volume shrinking of the more viscous phase transient formation of the bicontinuous network structure phase inversion in the final stage. 

Fluorescence microscopy of phase separated mixed monolayer by a convnetional fluorescence microscope and SNOAM... 

The interactions between SDS and water represent a compromise between the extremes of complete phase separation (as happens when benzene and water mix) and molecular dispersion (SDS in dilute aqueous solution). A micelle forms. To minimize the energetically unfavourable interactions with water, SDS molecules aggregate to form a variety of microscopic structures, such as the dandelion head in Figure 10.12. 

The most simple diblock copolymers are linear chains, in which one part of the chain consists of one type of monomer, say polystyrene (PS), and the other one of another type, say polybutadiene (PB), as illustrated in Figure 14. PS and PB usually phase separate at low temperatures however, because of their chemical connectivity, block copolymers cannot unmix on a macroscopic scale. They can only phase separate on a microscopic scale, the size of which is determined by the length of the polymers. 

On a finer level, spherical grains that have an average diameter of 11 A are seen. A section analysis, which consisted of a plot of image contrast intensity versus distance, indicated that there is a mean periodicity of around 49 A, which is close to the values of the SAXS Bragg spacing usually associated with intercluster distances. This, as well as other microscopic studies, favors the model of phase separation as opposed to the core—shell model as applied to the interpretation of scattering data. The hydrated... 

As for direct emulsions, the presence of excess surfactant induces depletion interaction followed by phase separation. Such a mechanism was proposed by Binks et al. [ 12] to explain the flocculation of inverse emulsion droplets in the presence of microemulsion-swollen micelles. The microscopic origin of the interaction driven by the presence of the bad solvent is more speculative. From empirical considerations, it can be deduced that surfactant chains mix more easily with alkanes than with vegetable, silicone, and some functionalized oils. The size dependence of such a mechanism, reflected by the shifts in the phase transition thresholds, is... 

Waste-Form Stability. If they occur at all, solid state transformations in dry glass and UO2 matrices will be too slow under the temperature conditions of service to be observable in the laboratory at the same temperature. Here we need to extrapolate from high temperature laboratory conditions to low temperature service conditions. It will be desirable to develop an intimate knowledge of the processes of phase separation and devitrification of sodium borosilicate glasses at temperatures below the softening point by meticulous application of electron microscopic. X-ray crystallographic and other techniques. The glasses will contain inactive elements representative of the fission product... 

Fig. 4.7 Confocal scanning microscope image of (top) a spinodal phase separation structure Ti02 thin film, and (bottom) the cross-sectional height profile of the above picture across the solid line. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [100].

The extent of phase separation can be measured directly by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), optical microscope, and light or X-ray scattering technique. It is also investigated indirectly by measuring certain physical properties, such as glass transition temperature. 

Similar arguments explaining the phase separation were employed by Chou et al. [44]. The dynamics of phase separation was observed using an optical microscope during the course of polyurethane-unsaturated polyester IPN formation at different temperature. Chou et al. suggested that an interconnected phase formed through the spinodal decomposition mechanism developed quickly and was followed by the coalescence of the periodic phase to form a droplet/matrix type of morphology. The secondary phase separation occurred within both the droplet and the matrix phases. Chou et al. did not explain, however, why secondary phase separation occurred. 

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