Dynamics of phase separation for a micellar solution

Abstract

The phase-separation process in a micellar solution has been examined in an unstable region above its lower critical mixing point. We find that phase separation for a critical mixture pentaethylene glycol mono-$n$-dodecyl ether and water is quite analogous to spinodal decomposition observed in critical binary systems near their critical mixing points. A comparison is made of the time dependence of the scattered light intensity between recent theoretical predictions of spinodal decomposition and the experimental results.