Anomalous spreading with Marangoni flow on agar gel surfaces

We have experimentally observed anomalous spreading of aqueous alcohol solutions on flat and rough fractal agar gel surfaces. On flat agar gel surfaces, extremely fast spreading [θ(D)(t) ∝ t(-0.92)] that differs from Tanner's law [θ(D)(t) ∝ t(-0.3)] was observed when the liquid contained over 9 wt % of 1-propanol in which strong Marangoni flow was observed as a fluctuation on the liquid surface. However, on fractal gel surfaces, different spreading dynamics [θ(D)(t) ∝ t(-0.58)] were observed, although Marangoni flow still occurred. We found the surface-dependent spreading can be discussed in terms of competition between Marangoni flow and the pinning effect due to surface roughness.