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Chemisorption and physisorption

Chemisorption (or chemical adsorption) is adsorption in which the forces involved are valence forces of the same kind as those operating in the formation of chemical compounds. The problem of distinguishing between chemisorption and physisorption (see below) is basically the same as that of distinguishing between chemical and physical interaction in general. No absolutely sharp distinction can be made and intermediate cases exist, for example, adsorption involving strong hydrogen bonds or weak charge transfer.

Some features which are useful in recognizing chemisorption include:

(a)
the phenomenon is characterized by chemical specificity;
(b)
changes in the electronic state may be detectable by suitable physical means (e.g. u.v., infrared or microwave spectroscopy, electrical conductivity, magnetic susceptibility);
(c)
the chemical nature of the adsorptive(s) may be altered by surface dissociation or reaction in such a way that on desorption the original species cannot be recovered; in this sense chemisorption may not be reversible;
(d)
the energy of chemisorption is of the same order of magnitude as the energy change in a chemical reaction between a solid and a fluid: thus chemisorption, like chemical reactions in general, may be exothermic or endothermic and the magnitudes of the energy changes may range from very small to very large;
(e)
the elementary step in chemisorption often involves an activation energy;
(f)
where the activation energy for adsorption is large (activated adsorption), true equilibrium may be achieved slowly or in practice not at all. For example in the adsorption of gases by solids the observed extent of adsorption, at a constant gas pressure after a fixed time, may in certain ranges of temperature increase with rise in temperature. In addition, where the activation energy for desorption is large, removal of the chemisorbed species from the surface may be possible only under extreme conditions of temperature or high vacuum, or by some suitable chemical treatment of the surface;
(g)
since the adsorbed molecules are linked to the surface by valence bonds, they will usually occupy certain adsorption sites on the surface and only one layer of chemisorbed molecules is formed (monolayer adsorption, see §1.1.7).

Physisorption (or physical adsorption) is adsorption in which the forces involved are intermolecular forces (van der Waals forces) of the same kind as those responsible for the imperfection of real gases and the condensation of vapours, and which do not involve a significant change in the electronic orbital patterns of the species involved. The term van der Waals adsorption is synonymous with physical adsorption, but its use is not recommended.

Some features which are useful in recognizing physisorption include:

(a')
the phenomenon is a general one and occurs in any solid/fluid system, although certain specific molecular interactions may occur, arising from particular geometrical or electronic properties of the adsorbent and/or adsorptive;
(b')
evidence for the perturbation of the electronic states of adsorbent and adsorbate is minimal;
(c')
the adsorbed species are chemically identical with those in the fluid phase, so that the chemical nature of the fluid is not altered by adsorption and subsequent desorption;
(d')
the energy of interaction between the molecules of adsorbate and the adsorbent is of the same order of magnitude as, but is usually greater than, the energy of condensation of the adsorptive;
(e')
the elementary step in physical adsorption from a gas phase does not involve an activation energy. Slow, temperature dependent, equilibration may however result from rate-determining transport processes;
(f')
in physical adsorption, equilibrium is established between the adsorbate and the fluid phase. In solid/gas systems at not too high pressures the extent of physical adsorption increases with increase in gas pressure and usually decreases with increasing temperature. In the case of systems showing hysteresis the equilibrium may be metastable;
(g')
under appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature, molecules from the gas phase can be adsorbed in excess of those in direct contact with the surface (multilayer adsorption or filling of micropores, see §1.1.7).


next up previous contents
Next: Monolayer and multilayer adsorption, Up: ADSORPTION AND SPREAD MONOLAYERS Previous: Adsorbent/fluid interface   Contents
2002-09-05