A material that attracts and holds substances on its surface; the substance doing the attracting in an adsorption process.
From 'ad-' + 'sorbent' (Latin sorbens, capable of absorbing). Coined alongside 'adsorbate' in early 20th-century chemistry to distinguish surface attraction from bulk absorption.
Activated charcoal, silica gel, and even the lining of your water pitcher are all adsorbents—they're like molecular magnets that grab unwanted particles and keep them trapped on their surfaces indefinitely.
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