Dynamics of crossover from diffusion growth to coarsening in quenched binary mixtures

Abstract

The effect of a high volume fraction on the dynamics of phase separations in offcritically quenched binary mixtures, such as binary alloys and polymer blends, is discussed from a new unifying point of view. Three characteristic stages are shown to exist after the nucleation stage. The first is the early stage [E] where the droplets grow directly and independently from the solution by diffusion. The second is the intermediate stage Ill, where the growth is no longer independent due to the three kinds of interactions among droplets: the many-body interaction, the coagulation, and the Ostwald ripening. The third is the coarsening stage [C] where the growth from the solution is over. The dynamical behavior of phase separations is investigated analytically through the whole stages, including the dynamical scaling behavior, time exponents, and crossover. The numerical simulation is also performed to confirm the theoretical prediction.