The kinetics of phase ordering in complex fluids: pattern formation in microemulsions and micellar solutions

Abstract

The kinetics of phase ordering in binary mixtures in the presence of amphiphilic impurity molecules has received a certain amount of attention in the literature. Examples of such complex fluids include ternary microemulsions and micellar solutions. All the models proposed so far are extensions of the models used for the study of phase ordering in pure binary mixtures, e.g., binary alloys. We review the essential features of the models proposed by various groups, including ours, and summarize the main results. We compare these models and the results with the corresponding experimental observations to establish the merits and limitations of these models. We also mention the challenging open questions and the possible future directions of work in this frontier area of interdisciplinary research.