M. Cachile et Am. Cazabat, Spontaneous spreading of surfactant solutions on hydrophilic surfaces: CnEm in ethylene and diethylene glycol, LANGMUIR, 15(4), 1999, pp. 1515-1521
The spontaneous spreading of solutions of nonionic CnEm surfactants in ethy
lene and diethylene glycol on hydrophilic surfaces is investigated. The par
ameters of the study are the relative concentration of surfactant, defined
as being the ratio between the bulk concentration and the critical micellar
concentration, and the relative humidity (RH) of the surrounding atmospher
e. At low RH, RH < 30%, normal spreading is observed, i.e., the radius R of
the drops scales like t(1/10), t being the time. For RH > 40%, an accelera
tion of spreading rate and the emergence of contact-line instabilities are
observed in an increasing range around the cmc. A systematic study of these
spreading laws and instabilities is reported. We propose a qualitative mod
el of the processes, where the mobility of the surfactant on the solid surf
ace controls the start of a Marangoni flow at the free liquid surface. Once
star;ted, this flow dominates the spreading.