抄録
Phase separation behavior in methylsiloxane sol-gel systems confined in 1D space has been studied using methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) as a precursor. When confined in long cylindrical or rectangular capillaries with effectively only 1D degree of freedom, it was found that phase separation starts homogeneously first and then forms column-shaped gel domains near the surface of the mold, and finally, no phase-separated structure remains inside the mold (transition to complete wetting occurs). The column-shaped gel skeletons near the surface is considered as material transfer channels which transport the MTMS-derived phase onto the surface of the mold to spread there, and this leads to the subsequent wetting transition. When confined in rectangular grooves with one side open to the bulk solution, a sharp transition from homogeneous co-continuous structure to columnar structure was found when the bulk spinodal wavelength exceeds the width of the grooves, and it never exhibited wetting transition.
