Finite difference approximate solutions for the Cahn-Hilliard equation

In this article, we analyze a Crank‐Nicolson‐type finite difference scheme for the nonlinear evolutionary Cahn‐Hilliard equation. We prove existence, uniqueness and convergence of the difference solution. An iterative algorithm for the difference scheme is given and its convergence is proved. A linearized difference scheme is presented, which is also second‐order convergent. Finally a new difference method possess a Lyapunov function is presented. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 23: 437–455, 2007