Sublimation - definition

Sublimation is the process of phase transformation, in which a substance passes directly from the solid to the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid phase. The phenomenon occurs when the saturated vapour pressure of the solid substance reaches a value equal to the ambient pressure at a temperature below the melting point. Sublimation requires the supply of sufficient thermal energy to overcome the forces of cohesion between molecules in the solid phase, while allowing the transition to the gaseous phase without intermediate liquefaction.

This process is characteristic of some substances with specific physicochemical properties, such as a low melting point and relatively high vapour pressure in the solid state. Examples of materials that undergo sublimation are iodine, dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and camphor. In industrial and laboratory settings, sublimation is used as a technique for purifying substances, as impurities do not usually sublimate and remain in the solid state.

From a thermodynamic point of view, sublimation describes a first-order phase transition, which involves absorption of the heat of sublimation - the amount of energy required to convert a unit mass of a substance from a solid to a gaseous state at constant pressure. In technical applications, sublimation is used in sublimation printing, the production of semiconductor thin films and cryogenic processes, among others. In nature, natural sublimation processes can be observed, for example, in the hydrological cycle under low-temperature conditions, where ice or snow transforms directly into water vapour. In the context of materials engineering and chemistry, sublimation plays an important role in shaping the physical properties of solids and in the design of evaporation and thin film deposition technologies.

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