Question

How does temperature affect adsorption?

Answer 1

Adsorption is a surface phenomenon in which dissolved atoms, ion, or molecules of liquid, gases or solids get accumulated at the surface of another substance, which is in different phases through adhesive forces.

Complete step-by-step answer: - Adsorption of gas on solid is the process in which molecules of gas get adsorbed on the surface of solid. It is a surface phenomenon, i.e., when different molecular species get accumulated on the surface rather than in bulk that is inside a solid or liquid is termed as adsorption.
- The substance, which concentrates or accumulates at the surface of another substance is termed as absorbate and the material on the surface of which the adsorption takes place is called absorbent.
- We know that as we increase the temperature, the energy of the gas increases. At the same time, the gas which is bonded with solid surface will also break the bond with surface of solid. We can now conclude that the adsorption decreases as we increase the system temperature.
- As we decrease the temperature, this breakage of bonds decreases, and we can say that adsorption will increase as we decrease the temperature and vice-versa.

Note: Remember that absorption is a different phenomenon than absorption. Absorption involves the whole material of the absorbate while adsorption is just a surface phenomenon. There is no real effect of charges in pressure and temperature on adsorption.