Spinodal decomposition in polymer mixtures via surface diffusion

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We present experimental results for spinodal decomposition in polymer mixtures of gelatin and dextran. The domain growth law is found to be consistent with t¹/4-growth over extended time-regimes. Similar results are obtained from lattice simulations of a polymer mixture. This slow growth arises due to the suppression of the bulk mobility of polymers. In that case, spinodal decomposition is driven by the diffusive transport of material along domain interfaces, which gives rise to a t¹/4-growth law.