Title: physisorption
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - physisorption
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.P04667
Status: current

Definition
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 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.

Related Terms
- Adsorption: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/A00155
- intermolecular: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/I03098
- van der Waals adsorption: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/V06595
- van der Waals forces: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/V06597

Sources
- PAC, 1972, 31, 577. 'Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units, Appendix II: Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry' on page 586 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197231040577)
- PAC, 1976, 46, 71. 'Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities and Units - Appendix II. Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry. Part II: Heterogeneous Catalysis' on page 75 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac197646010071)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04667/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04667/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/P04667/xml

Citation: Citation: 'physisorption' 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.P04667
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.
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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: 2026-04-21T05:48:18+00:00