Morphological and kinetic evolution of surface patterns in gels during the swelling process: Evidence of dynamic pattern ordering

A morphological and kinetic change is found in the late stage of surface pattern formation on a gel plate. It results from a dynamic ordering process originating from a strong constraint from the bottom surface. The scattering function changes its form from a single-peaked, broad function to a multipeaked one, reflecting the morphological change from a treelike pattern to a honeycomblike one. The characteristic size of the pattern initially grows as t1/2, and then relaxes to its equilibrium value. This kinetic change coincides well with the morphological one.