Absorption (chemistry)

Common card · No. 486726

Absorption is a physical or chemical phenomenon or a process in which atoms, molecules or ions enter the liquid or solid bulk phase of a material. This is a different process from adsorption, since molecules undergoing absorption are taken up by the volume, not by the surface (as in the case for adsorption). A more common definition is that "Absorption is a chemical or physical phenomenon in which the molecules, atoms and ions of the substance getting absorbed enter into the bulk phase (gas, liquid or solid) of the material in which it is taken up." A more general term is sorption, which covers absorption, adsorption, and ion exchange. Absorption is a condition in which something takes in another substance. In many processes important in technology, chemical absorption is used in place of the physical process, e.g., absorption of carbon dioxide by sodium hydroxide – such acid-base processes do not follow the Nernst partition law (see: solubility). For some examples of this effect, see...

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