Adsorbatten

Adsorbatten, in Dutch scientific usage, are the species that adhere to a surface by adsorption; in English, these are called adsorbates. They can be atoms, ions, or molecules arising from a surrounding gas, liquid, or solid phase and may reside on solid surfaces such as activated carbon, silica, or metal oxides.

Adsorption occurs through two main mechanisms. Physisorption involves weak van der Waals forces and is usually reversible at moderate temperatures. Chemisorption forms stronger chemical bonds, can be slower and more surface-specific, and may be partly irreversible. The two processes influence how much and how tightly the adsorbatten are held on the surface and can affect surface chemistry and reactivity.

Several factors influence adsorption, including surface area and porosity, surface chemistry, temperature and pressure, adsorbate concentration, pH, and the presence of competing species or solvents. Equilibrium is often described by adsorption isotherms, with Langmuir modeling monolayer adsorption on a homogeneous surface, and Freundlich describing adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces.

Applications span environmental remediation (removing pollutants from air or water), purification of gases and liquids, catalysis (adsorbed species on catalyst surfaces), separation processes, and sensing (adsorption-induced changes in surface signals). Measurement and characterization combine gravimetric or volumetric uptake methods, thermogravimetric analysis, and surface area techniques such as the BET method; spectroscopic and microscopic methods identify the nature and location of adsorbatten on surfaces.

Understanding adsorbatten is fundamental to adsorption science and informs the design of adsorbents, catalysts, and sensors.