Wetting films and wetting

Abstract

Macroscopic approach to the wetting phenomena, based on the isotherms of disjoining pressure of wetting films in equilibrium with concave menisci or drops, allows one to calculate the contact angles for different liquids and solid substrates. The results of calculations are presented using the theory of long-range surface forces, and their agreement with experimental data is shown. The role of the transition zone between the wetting films and bulk liquid in the phenomena of line tension, mechanical and thermodynamical equilibrium, and the formation of dynamic contact angles, is demonstrated. Within the framework of the macroscopic approach the phenomena of prewetting and wetting transition are discussed