Droplet spreading: A Monte Carlo test of Tanner's law

The spreading of polymer droplets under conditions of complete wetting on an ideally flat and structureless solid substrate has been studied by computer simulation, using a coarse-grained bead-spring model of flexible macromolecules. Evidence is obtained that a power law close to Tanner's law for the growth of the lateral droplet radius {r(t)proportional tot(0.14)} and contact angle {thetaproportional tot(-0.31)} holds on nanoscopic scales. We observe the formation of a precursor film around the spreading droplet and find that the film attains diffusive dynamics at late times. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.