Activation

Description

The chemical or physical modification of a substance to make it more efficient or reactive. This may be done by heat, radiation or adding another material. Examples:

a) regeneration of a catalyst to make it more efficient,

b) modification of an enzyme to turn it into an active form,

c) heat treatment of finely divided carbon black particles to produce activated carbon,

d) addition of energy (heat, radiation, etc.) to a system to produce an active state.

Resources and Citations

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

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

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998