Droplets of an aqueous phase placed on a very hydrophobic, waxy surface bead-up rather than spread, forming a sessile drop with a relatively large contact angle at the edge of the drop. Surfactant molecules, when dissolved in the aqueous phase, can facilitate the wetting of an aqueous drop on a hydrophobic surface. One class of surfactants, superwetters, can cause aqueous droplets to move very rapidly over a hydrophobic surface, thereby completely wetting the surface (superspreading). A recent numerical study of the hydrodynamics of superspreading by Karapetsas, Craster & Matar (J. Fluid Mech., this issue, vol. 670, 2011, pp. 5–37) provides a clear explanation of how these surfactants cause such a dramatic change in wetting behaviour. The study shows that large spreading rates occur when the surfactant can transfer directly from the air/aqueous to the aqueous/hydrophobic solid interface at the contact line. This transfer reduces the concentration of surfactant on the fluid interface, which would otherwise be elevated due to the advection accompanying the drop spreading. The reduced concentration creates a Marangoni force along the fluid surface in the direction of spreading, and a concave rim in the vicinity of the contact line with a large dynamic contact angle. Both of these effects act to increase the spreading rate. The molecular structure of the superwetters allows them to assemble on a hydrophobic surface, enabling the direct transfer from the fluid to the solid surface at the contact line.
On the microhydrodynamics of superspreading
