Self-propelled particles include both self-phoretic synthetic colloids and various micro-organisms. By continually consuming energy, they bypass the laws of equilibrium thermodynamics. These laws enforce the Boltzmann distribution in thermal equilibrium: the steady state is then independent of kinetic parameters. In contrast, self-propelled particles tend to accumulate where they move more slow...

Here we report novel phase-separation behavior accompanying mechanical fracture ("fracture phase separation"), which is observed in polymer solutions. Surprisingly, mechanical fracture becomes a dominant coarsening process of the phase separation. The transition from viscoelastic to fracture phase separation corresponds to the "ductile-to-brittle transition" in fracture of materials under shear...

Any elementary textbook on statistical mechanics will try to convince you that energy is everything w.r.t. phase separation. The goal of this thesis is to show otherwise.

Guide regeneration techniques have been recently used to heal soft and hard tissue defects. In this approach, scaffolding plays an important role. Hydroxypatite (HA) resembles the natural bone mineral and has shown good bone bonding properties. In this work, porous polyurethanes have been prepared by a thermally induced phase separation technique. Freeze drying of the separated polymer/solvent ...

The most common food processing operations, thermal and mechanical treatments, both affect phase state and texture of foods. The phase separation threshold for food biopolymer mixtures is usually below their concentrations characteristically found in food. Phase-separation underpins texturisation processes during food processing and digestion. The distribution of water between the phases, the a...

We study the domain geometry during spinodal decomposition of a 50:50 binary mixture in two dimensions. Extending arguments developed to treat nonconserved coarsening, we obtain approximate analytic results for the distribution of domain areas and perimeters during the dynamics. The main approximation is to regard the interfaces separating domains as moving independently. While this is true in ...

Solid-phase-based immunoassays have traditionally been plagued by nonspecific binding to the solid phase and by slow reaction kinetics relative to reactants that are free to diffuse in solution. We have developed two novel immunoassays in which the solid phase is generated in situ after the specific binding reaction has occurred, thereby enhancing reaction kinetics and minimizing the opportunit...

A covalent network of polymer can imbibe a solvent to form a gel. In a cavity on the surface of the gel, capillary force may suck the solvent out of the gel to form a pure liquid phase. We show that such osmocapillary phase separation occurs when capillarity balances osmosis, and when the diffusion of solvent in the gel prevails over the condensation of solvent from the vapor. Osmocapillary pha...

The feasibility of extractive reaction of methacrylic acid from aqueous solution using a quaternary amine, tri–octyl methyl ammonium chloride (TOMAC) as an extractant, was studied. The diluents chosen in the present work belong to different chemical classes, n–butyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride, isoamyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and toluene. The effect of initial acid concentration in t...

the feasibility of extractive reaction of methacrylic acid from aqueous solution using a quaternary amine, tri–octyl methyl ammonium chloride (tomac) as an extractant, was studied. the diluents chosen in the present work belong to different chemical classes, n–butyl acetate, carbon tetrachloride, isoamyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and toluene. the effect of initial acid concentration in t...