Displacing liquid in a confined space is important for technological processes, ranging from porous membrane separation to CO$_{2}$ sequestration. The liquid to be displaced usually consists of multiple components with different solubilities in the displacing liquid. Phase separation and chemical composition gradients in the liquids can influence the displacement rate. In this work, we investigate the effects of liquid composition on the displacement process of ternary liquid mixtures in a quasi-2D microchannel where liquid-liquid phase separation occurs concurrently. We focused on model ternary mixtures containing 1-octanol, ethanol, and water. These mixtures are displaced with water or with ethanol aqueous solution. The spatial distribution of subphases arising from phase separation and the displacement rates of the solution are impacted by the initial ternary solution composition. The boundary between the solution and displacing liquid changes from a defined interface to a diffusive interface as the initial 1-octanol composition in the solution is reduced. The displacement rate also varies non-linearly with the initial 1-octanol composition. The slowest displacement rate arises in the intermediate 1-octanol concentration, where a stable three-zone configuration forms at the boundary. At very low 1-octanol concentration, the displacement rate is fast, associated with droplet formation and motion driven by the chemical concentration gradients formed during phase separation. The excessive energy provided from phase separation may contribute to the enhanced displacement at intermediate to high 1-octanol concentrations, but not at the low 1-octanol concentration with enhancement from induced flow in confinement. The knowledge gained from this study highlights the importance of manipulating phase separation to enhance mass transport in confinement for a wide range of separation processes.
Effects of Divalent Cations on Diffusion Dynamics of Biological Water Confined between Lipid Membranes
Global Science Research Center for Systems Chemistry (GCSC)（系统化学全球研究中心）；Department of Chemistry, Chung-Ang University（中央大学化学系）；Center for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)（基础科学研究院分子光谱与动力学中心）；Department of Chemistry, Korea University（韩国大学化学系）
Motility-dependent selective transport of active matter in trap arrays: Separation methods based on trapping-detrapping and deterministic lateral displacement
