Preferential

Name:
Preferential
Detailed information:
Descriptive of the selectivity of action, either chemical or physiochemical, exhibited by a substance when in contact with two other substances; it may be due either to chemical affinity or to surface phenomena. An example of a preferential chemical combination is that of hemoglobin with carbon monoxide, with which it unites 200 times as readily as with oxygen when exposed to a mixture of the two. Such phenomena as adsorption, corrosion, and the wetting of dry powders by liquids are other examples.