Wetting transitions in polydisperse fluids

TL;DR

This paper investigates how polydisperse fluids exhibit density-driven wetting transitions near walls, proposing a phase diagram topology and validating it through Monte Carlo simulations of a model fluid.

Contribution

It introduces a likely topology for wetting phase diagrams in polydisperse fluids and tests it with Monte Carlo simulations, linking wetting behavior to the cloud curve.

Findings

Wetting transitions depend on both temperature and parent density.

The proposed phase diagram topology is supported by simulation results.

Wetting line is traced inside the cloud curve, showing relationship to prewetting.

Abstract

The properties of the coexisting bulk gas and liquid phases of a polydisperse fluid depend not only on the prevailing temperature, but also on the overall parent density. As a result, a polydisperse fluid near a wall will exhibit density-driven wetting transitions inside the coexistence region. We propose a likely topology for the wetting phase diagram, which we test using Monte Carlo simulations of a model polydisperse fluid at an attractive wall, tracing the wetting line inside the cloud curve and identifying the relationship to prewetting.