Title: linear distribution isotherm
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - linear distribution isotherm
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.LT06935
Status: current

Definition
A distribution isotherm which can be approximated as \(c_{\rm{s}} = K_{\rm{C}}.c_{\rm{M}}\) where \(K_{\rm{C}}\) is a constant.

Note
At low concentrations, all distribution isotherms tend towards being linear. \(K_{\rm{C}}\) is the distribution constant.

Related Terms
- distribution constant: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/D01813
- distribution isotherm: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/DT06932

Source
- PAC, 1996, 68, 1591. 'Nomenclature for non-linear chromatography (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 1593 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668081591)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/LT06935/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/LT06935/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/LT06935/xml

Citation: Citation: 'linear distribution isotherm' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.LT06935
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-07-26T23:34:11+00:00