Dynamics of interfaces near a wall during phase separation

The connection between the growth of a wetting layer and bulk phase separation is investigated in a binary liquid system undergoing spinodal decomposition near a critical point. Gravity effects are suppressed by using a density-matched mixture of partially deuterated cyclohexane and methanol. The wetting phase which grows at the walls of the container is found to be rippled and connected to the bulk, and layering of spatially anisotropic domains of the nonwetting phase is observed near the wall. Growth laws are determined and compared with a dimensional analysis of the Navier-Stokes equations.