Issue 5, 2013

Steady and out-of-equilibrium phase diagram of a complex fluid at the nanolitre scale: combining microevaporation, confocal Raman imaging and small angle X-ray scattering

Abstract

We engineered specific microfluidic devices based on the pervaporation of water through a PDMS membrane, to formulate continuous and steady concentration gradients of a binary aqueous molecular mixture at the nanolitre scale. In the case of a model complex fluid (a triblock copolymer solution), we demonstrate that such a steady gradient crosses the phase diagram from pure water up to a succession of highly viscous mesophases. We then performed in situ spatially resolved measurements (confocal spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering) to quantitatively measure the concentration profile and to determine the microstructure of the different textures. Within a single microfluidic channel, we thus screen quantitatively and continuously the phase diagram of a complex fluid. Beside, as such a gradient corresponds to an out-of-equilibrium regime, we also extract from the concentration measurement a precise estimate of the collective diffusion coefficient of the mixture as a function of the concentration. In the present case of the triblock copolymer, this transport coefficient features discontinuities at some phase boundaries, which have never been observed before.

Graphical abstract: Steady and out-of-equilibrium phase diagram of a complex fluid at the nanolitre scale: combining microevaporation, confocal Raman imaging and small angle X-ray scattering

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Oct 2012
Accepted
07 Dec 2012
First published
10 Dec 2012

Lab Chip, 2013,13, 910-919

Steady and out-of-equilibrium phase diagram of a complex fluid at the nanolitre scale: combining microevaporation, confocal Raman imaging and small angle X-ray scattering

L. Daubersies, J. Leng and J. Salmon, Lab Chip, 2013, 13, 910 DOI: 10.1039/C2LC41207A

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