Quimisorció

Quimisorció is a type of adsorption where the adsorbate (the substance being adsorbed) forms chemical bonds with the surface of the adsorbent (the material doing the adsorbing). This is in contrast to fisiorción, which involves weaker physical forces. The formation of chemical bonds means that quimisorció is a much stronger and more permanent interaction. It typically involves a significant activation energy and is often irreversible.

The process of quimisorció usually leads to a change in the chemical nature of the adsorbate, as it effectively becomes part of the adsorbent's surface. This can be seen in processes like catalysis, where reactant molecules are chemisorbed onto a catalyst surface, undergo a chemical reaction, and then desorb as products. The strength of the bond formed in quimisorció is comparable to covalent or ionic bonds.

Several factors influence quimisorció, including the nature of the adsorbent and adsorbate, temperature, and pressure. Generally, higher temperatures can provide the necessary activation energy for bond formation, but excessively high temperatures might lead to desorption. The surface area of the adsorbent is also crucial, as a larger surface area provides more sites for chemisorption to occur. Quimisorció is a fundamental phenomenon in many chemical and industrial processes, including gas purification, heterogeneous catalysis, and surface science.