Adsorption phenomena in amphiphilic systems

The wetting behavior of a ternary mixture of oil, water, and amphiphile in the presence of a surface is studied. An interface model carefully derived from an underlying Ginzburg-Landau theory is introduced, which contains position dependent rigidity and stiffness coefficients. Using this model we predict a rich surface phase diagram containing thin-thick, first-order, and continuous wetting transitions. Application of the model to other interface behavior in these mixtures is also addressed.