Long term phase separation dynamics in liquid crystal-enriched microdroplets obtained from binary fluid mixtures

Area of Science:

• Physical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Soft Matter Physics

Background:

• Long-term phase separation in binary liquid mixtures is a key area of fundamental research.
• Understanding confined systems is crucial as their behavior can differ significantly from bulk phases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the dynamics of phase separation in binary liquid mixtures with minority phases confined in liquid crystal (LC)-rich droplets.
• To analyze the evolution of droplet size, defects, and mesogen alignment over time.
• To compare experimental observations with computational simulations and understand microscale deviations from bulk thermodynamics.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing polarization microscopy to visualize the configuration and evolution of LC-rich droplets during phase separation.
• Conducting computational simulations to model the phase separation dynamics.
• Comparing experimental data with simulation results to elucidate differences between bulk and confined systems.

Main Results:

• Observed the evolution of size, defect structures, and mesogen alignment within confined LC droplets over time.
• Identified deviations in phase transition behavior at the microscale compared to bulk phase diagrams.
• Quantified differences in thermodynamics between bulk phase separation and droplet confinement.

Conclusions:

• Microscale phase transitions in confined systems, such as LC droplets, can exhibit distinct behaviors compared to bulk phase diagrams.
• The study provides valuable insights into the thermodynamics of phase separation in confined geometries.
• Findings are relevant to various material systems undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation, including polymer and protein solutions.