Unified approach to prewetting and wetting phase transitions

Prewetting, sequential wetting, and gravity thinning transitions are considered using the same generalized Ginzburg–Landau free energy functional. It is shown by asymptotic and numerical analysis that by varying the distance from the three-phase coexistence curve and the amplitudes of the power-law adsorbate–absorbent potential, it is possible to account for both the discontinuous formation of a finite layer of the liquid phase on the substrate and the transition to complete wetting.