sorption Physical Chem.
(ˈsɔːpʃən)
[Extracted from absorption and adsorption.]
The combined or undifferentiated action of absorption and adsorption. Freq. attrib.
| 1909 J. W. McBain in Phil. Mag. XVIII. 916 The non-committal name ‘sorption’ may be coined to designate the sum of the phenomena, while ‘absorption’ and ‘adsorption’ should be restricted to proven cases of the solution or surface condensation respectively. 1932 Trans. Faraday Soc. XXVIII. 182 The rate of sorption at constant temperature was very nearly directly proportional to the pressure. 1945 Electronic Engin. XVII. 325/1 M. Francis—dealing mainly with the sorption effects of the walls— gives a detailed account of the use of the McLeod gauge with non-permanent gases. 1954 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) XI. 33/1 In its practical aspects, the term ‘sorption’ is usually applied to the concentration at solid surfaces of gases and vapours, and of dissolved substances and colloids, and is therefore largely synonymous with adsorption. 1969 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 342/1 Sorption pumping, a process for producing a vacuum in a closed system by the capture and holding of gases by certain solids or liquids, has recently been developed into a practical technique. 1971 [see rough v.1 7 d]. 1973 Nature 12 Jan. 92/1 New work on the sorption of boron compounds may provide a way of isolating the element from seawater. 1978 Ibid. 16 Mar. 230/1 It is important in the field of forest products science to know the sorption mechanism of water in wood. |
Hence ˈsorptive a., of, pertaining to, or exhibiting sorption.
| 1921 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. CXIX. 928 After each heating, the density was determined and then the sorptive capacity at each of the three temperatures. 1938 Proc. R. Soc. A. CLXVII. 392 The paper describes an attempt to relate the sorptive properties [of zeolites] towards permanent gases..and towards ammonia..to the structure and properties revealed by the X-ray method. |