• Accepted Paper

Dielectric sensing of ultrafast reaction-induced phase separation at a model liquid-liquid interface

Lida Meng, Wuyi Liu, Shiying Xu, Jiming Hu, Lei Jiao, and Lin Zhang

Phys. Rev. Research - Accepted 7 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/52qd-76xh

Abstract

Active liquid-liquid interfaces, driven far from equilibrium by coupled reactions and transport, govern diverse phe-nomena from synthetic membrane formation to cellular compartmentalization. However, their ultrafast dynamics remain elusive due to the lack of non-invasive probes with sufficient temporal resolution for these buried, molecu-larly thin, and easily perturbed regions. Herein, we proposed a general in situ dielectric sensing approach that tack-les this challenge by transducing interfacial dipole variations into macroscopic capacitance signals, enabling label-free, real-time semiquantitative tracking of interfacial dynamics with sub-millisecond resolution. Applying it to interfacial polymerization —a model system combing interphase diffusion, polycondensation, and phase separa-tion—we directly capture the critical onset of reaction-induced phase separation at approximately 10s, marked by a distinct kinetic inflection. Ex situ model fitting reveals an initial interfacial width of ~1 nm prior to phase separa-tion and a subsequent polymer thickening that follows a power law with an exponent of 0.37. This sub-diffusive scaling signifies a self-limiting growth regime under nanoconfinement, deviating from classical diffusion-limited models. This work establishes a proof-of-concept platform for probing nonequilibrium interfacial phenomena, bridging microscopic kinetics with mesoscale interfacial structural evolution.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation

If the author has provided any supplemental materials with this article they will be available upon publication of the version of record.

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation