ABSTRACT
Adsorption can be defined as a process leading to a significant increase in particle concentration
occurring in a thin layer adjacent to an interface, usually liquid=solid or liquid=air. The driving force of adsorption are the short-range interactions between particles and interfaces, often called
colloid or surface interactions. According to this definition, a physical accumulation of particles
caused, for example, by gravity (sedimentation) is not classified as adsorption. Irreversible
adsorption, treated primarily in this chapter, is often referred to as deposition or adhesion,
appearing when a chemical-type contact between a particle and an interface is created.
According to the colloid nomenclature, particle adsorption can be treated as a limiting form
of heterocoagulation of particles differing widely in size.
