Surface-directed phase separation with off-critical composition: analytical and numerical results

Abstract

We study the interplay of wetting and phase separation in an unstable binary mixture (AB) with off-critical composition, placed in contact with a surface which prefers the component A. We consider surface potentials V(z)~z^-n, where z is the distance from the surface, and present analytical arguments and detailed numerical results to elucidate wetting-layer kinetics for arbitrary mixture compositions. If the preferred component is the minority phase, the wetting-layer thickness exhibits a potential-specific behavior at early times τ, R₁~τ^1/(n+2), before crossing over to the universal growth law, R₁~τ^1/3. On the other hand, if the preferred component is the majority phase, there is a crossover from potential-specific growth (as before) to a slower growth regime.