Adsorption

Description

Occurs when one substance adheres to the surface of another, called the adsorbent. The adsorption bonding forces are weak van der Waals bonds and can usually be reversed to regenerate the absorbent's capacity. Adsorbents are used to remove pollutants, odors, tastes, colors and moisture from gases and liquids. Common adsorbents are activated carbon, activated alumina, clays, zeolites, and silica gel. The adsorption process is used to produce lake pigments by precipitating dyes on a substrate, such as aluminum hydroxide. An often confused term, absorption, refers to the penetration of one substance into another.

Synonyms and Related Terms

adsorpce (Ces.); adsorption (Dan., Fr., Sven.); Adsorption (Deut.); adsorción (Esp.); adsorptie (Ned.); adsorpsjon (Nor.); adsorpcja (Pol.); adsorção (Port.);

Authority

• Mary-Lou Florian, Dale Paul Kronkright, Ruth E. Norton, The Conservation of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 1990

• A Glossary of Paper Conservation Terms, Margaret Ellis (ed.), Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York City, 1998

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Matte Paint: Its history and technology, analysis, properties and conservation treatment, Eric Hansen, Sue Walston, Mitchell Bishop (ed.), J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, Vol. 30 of AATA, 1993

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adsorption (Accessed Mar. 1, 2006)

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988