Fusion of two critical points and accelerated phase dynamics in orientational ternary mixtures

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical study of phase separation in ternary mixtures with isotropic, anisotropic, and solvent components, revealing dual binodal lines and rapid droplet formation influenced by molecular orientation.

Contribution

It introduces a minimal model combining Flory-Huggins and Maier-Saupe theories to analyze phase behavior and dynamics in orientational ternary mixtures, highlighting novel phase transition phenomena.

Findings

Two distinct binodal lines merge at critical points.

Rapid droplet formation due to weakly first-order transition.

Anisotropic molecules influence phase separation kinetics.

Abstract

Motivated by intracellular phase separation, we theoretically investigate how molecular orientation and multi-component nature affect phase behavior. We construct a minimal model for a ternary mixture composed of isotropic (I), anisotropic (A), and solvent (s) components by combining the Flory-Huggins and Maier-Saupe theories. We obtain two main results from evaluating the phase behavior and the time evolution of the density fields. First, for certain interaction parameters, two distinct binodal lines appear in the plane of the volume fractions of the I- and A-components, and merge through their respective critical points. Second, rapid droplet formation emerges due to a weakly first-order phase transition, characterized by a discontinuity of the spinodal surface. The first result indicates the possibility of continuous transformation between the two phase-separated states. The second result suggests that anisotropic molecules can regulate phase separation kinetics. These findings might be physically general beyond biological systems.