Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in an Elastic Network
| Autor: | Eric R. Dufresne, Nicoló Fanelli, Mahdiye Ijavi, Tianqi Sai, Qin Xu, Robert W. Style, Katrina Smith-Mannschott, Lawrence A. Wilen |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
chemistry.chemical_classification Materials science Physics QC1-999 FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy Polymer Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter Elastic network Microstructure Physics::Fluid Dynamics Condensed Matter::Soft Condensed Matter 03 medical and health sciences Matrix (mathematics) 030104 developmental biology chemistry Chemical physics Phase (matter) Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) Liquid liquid |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review X, 8 (1) Physical Review X, Vol 8, Iss 1, p 011028 (2018) |
| ISSN: | 2160-3308 |
| DOI: | 10.3929/ethz-b-000244481 |
| Popis: | Living and engineered systems rely on the stable coexistence of two interspersed liquid phases. Yet, surface tension drives their complete separation. Here, we show that stable droplets of uniform and tunable size can be produced through arrested phase separation in an elastic matrix. Starting with a cross-linked, elastic polymer network swollen by a solvent mixture, we change the temperature or composition to drive demixing. Droplets nucleate and grow to a stable size that is tunable by the network cross-linking density, the cooling rate, and the composition of the solvent mixture. We discuss thermodynamic and mechanical constraints on the process. In particular, we show that the threshold for macroscopic phase separation is altered by the elasticity of the polymer network, and we highlight the role of correlations between nuclei positions in determining the droplet size and polydispersity. This phenomenon has potential applications ranging from colloid synthesis and structural color to phase separation in biological cells. Physical Review X, 8 (1) ISSN:2160-3308 |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|