Dynamics of micrometer-scale phase separation in a polymer mixture upon laser irradiation
Ten $μ$m -sized droplets in an aqueous-two-phase system (water/ polyethylene-glycol (PEG)/ dextran) dissapear upon irradiation with a focused YAG laser. The interface of the dextran-rich droplet broadens, indicating smoothing of the concentration profile, whereas, the PEG-rich droplet shrinks and disappears. These phenomena can be described in terms of the Ginzburg-Landau free energy, by considering the laser-induced dielectric potential.
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