Skip to main content
to desorb

to desorb

9.3
To come off a surface after something sticks to it, for example a gas or tiny particle
  • verb
  • /dɪˈsɔrb/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desorber
  • You have to adsorb the reactants and desorb the products.

Examples

  • The modern industrial concept of chemical etching now also includes dry etching, in which the surface is exposed to gaseous molecules rather than to liquids, and the etch products are desorbed into the vapor.

    Academic text (1998)
  • So the gas that desorbs later is the heavier gas off of the cuttings.

  • It's then desorbed or emitted and redeposited down here.

  • Electric band heaters raise the temperature of the charcoal to desorb the xenon.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Carbon at the film surface is oxidized to CO and CO2 and is tribochemically desorbed.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Having established that dimer vacancies form, that Si atoms move onto the terrace, and that SiBr2 desorbs, we can use STM to address another issue.

    Academic text (1998)
  • At 900 K, the Br atoms on the surface can form silicon dibromide (SiBr2) units that can desorb, following a sequence of events described below.

    Academic text (1998)
  • When the temperature rises, the molecules can desorb from the surface more easily.

  • The scientist used a vacuum to help the gas desorb from the solid material.

  • To clean the surface, you need to desorb the contaminants attached to it.

Synonyms

to release
vsto desorb
446 2.7

To allow a liquid, gas, or energy to flow out

is about removing a substance from a surface where it was previously adsorbed

Antonyms

to adsorb
  • Specialized
1 9.1

To hold liquids or gases on the surface of a solid

Surface Forms

desorb infinitive
desorbed past
desorbed past participle
desorbing present participle
desorbs third person singular

Morphology

desorb = adsorb (opaque) = de + sorb

Although formed by the prefix 'de-' + the combining form 'sorb', both the root and the related verb 'adsorb' are specialized scientific items unfamiliar to average B1 learners.

Etymology

The word desorb comes from de- 'away' plus sorb 'to suck in', the same root you see in absorb and the everyday idea 'suck'. So to desorb is to let a substance be 'sucked away' from a surface, which fits its modern scientific meaning.