Liquid-liquid phase separation in multicomponent polymer systems

Liquid-liquid phase separation in biology.

Cells organize many of their biochemical reactions in non-membrane compartments. Recent evidence has shown that many of these compartments are liquids that form by phase separation from the cytoplasm. Here we discuss the basic physical concepts necessary to understand the consequences of liquid-like states for biological functions.

Polymerization-induced phase separation in a liquid-crystal-polymer mixture.

Crystal templating through liquid-liquid phase separation.

Controlled induction of crystal nucleation is a highly desirable but elusive goal. Attempts to speed up crystallization, such as high super saturation or working near a liquid-liquid critical point, always led to irregular and uncontrollable crystal growth. Here, we show that under highly nonequilibrium conditions of spinodal decomposition, water crystals grow as thin wires in a template-less f...

Metastable Liquid–Liquid and Solid–Liquid Phase Boundaries in Polymer–Solvent–Nonsolvent Systems

In general liquid–liquid demixing processes are responsible for the porous morphology of membranes obtained by immersion precipitation. For rapidly crystallizing polymers, solid–liquid demixing processes also generate porous morphologies. In this study, the interference of both phase transitions has been analyzed theoretically using the Flory–Huggins theory for ternary polymer solutions. It is ...

Phase separation dynamics of a polymer dispersed liquid crystal

Phase separation in a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), consisting of a main chain liquid crystal (E7) and polymethyl methacryhte (PMMA), was studied by means of light scattering and optical microscopy. The PMMAm mixture exhibits an upper critical solution temperature (UCST), overlapping with a nematic-isotropic transition of the E7 liquid crystal. Several temperature quenches were under...