Pattern formation in planar electrophoretic cells

In experiments on planar electrophoretic cells with nonpolar solvent and surfactant we observe an intriguing pattern formation of suspended pigment particles. The observed dependency of the patterns on concentrations, cell dimensions and applied voltage profile is so far not understood. A possible explanation is that the phenomenon is an expression of spinodal decomposition or turing pattern. We compare our observations with earlier reports of pattern formation in different environments. The results are also part of a recently started project that aims to better understand electrokinetics in complex geometries and nonpolar environments.