Active surface

In materials science, "active surface" refers to those areas of a material that exhibit increased reactivity. This can mean, for example, that the surface of a material has special chemical groups or functions that enable it to react with other substances. An active surface can also be created by a special treatment of the material, such as heating, etching or coating.

In chemistry, the term "active surface" refers to the totality of all active sites on the surface of a catalyst. A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction. An increased active surface area on a catalyst means that there are more catalytically active sites, resulting in a higher reaction rate.

In both cases, the term "active surface" refers to the fact that the surface of a material or catalyst is not just passive, but actively involved in a particular chemical reaction.