Interplay between anchoring and wetting at a nematic-substrate interface

We use a generalized van der Waals molecular theory to study a model substr ate-nematic interface in the regime of complete wetting and in a situation of competing interactions at the interface. The analysis shows that an anch oring transition between states with planar and homeotropic director config uration may play the role of a prewetting transition, and that reentrant an choring must generally occur. As a result one expects complete wetting in a finite temperature range. The study provides a general context within whic h anchoring and wetting phenomena can be related. [S0031-9007(99)08841-9].