In order to find the mechanism for spreading and superspreading behavior of trisiloxane surfactant on low-energy surface, the time-dependent and the concentration-dependent spreading performances of five new gulcosamide-based trisiloxane on paraffin wax surface were investigated. The results showed that: in most cases, the spreading of these surfactants was driven by the unbalanced capillary force on the three-phase contact line, and that surface tension gradient participated the spreading process of surfactant I, II with higher concentration. Moreover, the spreading performance was affected by the HLB values and molecular volume of surfactant. Surfactant II with modest HLB value showed the best spreading performance within all concentrations, which also showed some superspreading behavior on paraffin wax surface.

Key words: trisiloxane, glucosamide, spreading, low-energy surface, superspreading