The line tension and the generalized Young equation: the choice of dividing surface

Using Gibbs method of dividing Surfaces, the condition of equilibrium of a sessile drop on a flat non-deformable solid Substrate is investigated. The dependence of the line tension on the curvature radius of the dividing three-phase contact line is found. It has been derived a relationship between the partial derivative of the line tension with respect to the curvature radius of the three-phase contact line (which stands in the generalized Young equation) and the total derivative of the line tension with respect to the same radius along the equilibrium states. Various approximated formulas of the generalized Young equation used in the literature are analyzed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.