Evaporation-induced phase separation: Coupled mechanisms and applications

Evaporation of multicomponent liquids produces complex, far-from-equilibrium phenomena spanning spatial scales from nanometers in aerosols to meters in coating films. A notable outcome of this phenomenon is the evaporation-induced phase separation (EIPS), where the initially homogeneous liquid phase spontaneously separates into multiple phases during the evaporation process. This phenomenon has attracted considerable attention due to its critical role in atmospheric aerosol chemistry, membrane fabrication, biological systems, and advanced materials processing. This review examines the fundamental mechanisms of EIPS, which couple multicomponent evaporation, flow, and phase transitions in multicomponent liquids, highlighting the large spatial scale span and the transient nature of EIPS systems. EIPS-related research and applications across diverse fields will be surveyed, followed by a discussion on open challenges and future opportunities.