Control of pattern formation during phase separation initiated by a propagated trigger

Understanding pattern formation during phase separation is a key topic in materials science for the important role that patterns play in determining macroscopic physical properties. In this work, we show how pattern formation can be controlled using a phase-separation trigger propagating outwards fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2017-07, Vol.7 (1), p.6912-8, Article 6912
Main Author: Kurita, Rei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/301/1034/1036
639/766/530/2795
Asymmetry
Humanities and Social Sciences
Investigations
multidisciplinary
Numerical analysis
Pattern formation
Physical properties
Polymers
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Simulation
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Summary:Understanding pattern formation during phase separation is a key topic in materials science for the important role that patterns play in determining macroscopic physical properties. In this work, we show how pattern formation can be controlled using a phase-separation trigger propagating outwards from a point. We found a range of patterns, including a random droplet pattern, a concentric pattern and a dendritic pattern, depending on the speed at which the trigger propagates, while only the random droplet pattern is observed in a system with homogeneous cooling. We also found that the phase at the core of the concentric pattern periodically changes with time. In addition, we investigated pattern formation during phase separation induced by multiple propagated triggers. When we propagate the triggers from periodic points in space, a metastable regular hexagonal pattern is formed. We also found a bifurcation between a case where the majority phase becomes a droplet phase and a case where the minority phase adopts a droplet pattern. We also confirm the existence of a percolated, bicontinuous phase, even with an asymmetric composition.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-07352-z