At a three-phase contact line, a liquid bulk phase is in contact with and coexists with a very thin layer of adsorbed molecules. This adsorbed film in the immediate vicinity of a liquid wedge modifies the balance of forces between the liquid and solid phases such that, when included in the balance of forces, a quantitative relationship emerges between the adsorbed film thickness and the static contact angle. This relationship permits the prediction of static contact angles from molecular forces and equilibrium adsorption data by means of quantities that are physically meaningful and measurable. For n-alkanes on polytetrafluoroethylene, for which there are experimental data available on adsorption and contact angles, our computations show remarkable agreement with the data. The results obtained are an improvement on previously published calculations—particularly for alkanes with a low number of carbon atoms, for which adsorption is significant.

• Received 11 February 2016
• Revised 29 June 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.94.022801