Initial Stage of Phase Separation in a Binary Mixture of Poly(Vinyl Methyl Ether) and Water

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Abstract
We report the initial stage of phase separation in a binary mixture of poly(vinyl methyl ether) and water under the off-critical temperature jump condition. We find the initial-stage spinodal decomposition described by Cahn's linear theory. The spatial scale of the initial fluctuation (about 10 µm) is much larger than that of usual binary mixtures. This unusual behavior can be qualitatively explained by the off-critical temperature jump of the long-range force system close to the spinodal line. The morphology is a droplet-like pattern initially, even in the spinodal decomposition, probably because of the highly asymmetric phase diagram.