| S. No | Physisorption | Chemisorption |
| (i) | It arises by weak van der Waals forces. | It arises by strong forces like chemical bond. |
| (ii) | It usually takes place at a low temperature and decreases with increasing temperature. | It takes place at a high temperature and increases with increase in temperature. |
| (iii) | It is reversible. | It is irreversible. |
| (iv) | It depends on the ease of liquification of the gas. | The extent of adsorption is not related to liquification of the gas. |
| (v) | It is not very specific. | It is highly specific. |
| (vi) | It forms multi-molecular layers. | It forms mono-molecular layers. |
| (vii) | It does not require any activation energy. | It requires activation energy. |
