An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → chemical reaction on solid surfaces in which one atom or molecule is → adsorbed on the catalyst surface, and another reacts directly from the gas phase. This type of mechanism may occur preferentially on very small → dust grains, where transient heating events prevent weakly bound species from remaining and in larger grains at high temperatures. Compare with the → Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism.

See also: Proposed in 1938 by D. D. Eley (1914-2015), a British chemist and Professor of Physical Chemistry and E. K. Rideal (1890-1974), an English physical chemist.