Function of semipermeable
Function of semi-permeable:
It may be recalled that when a solvent and a solution, or two solutions of different concentrations are separated by a semipermeable membrane (abbreviated as SPM), osmosis takes place resulting in the flow of solvent molecules from the solvent (or from a less concentrated solution) side to the solution (or to the more concentrated solution) side. Now the question is - How does the SPM work in osmosis?
It is considered that the solvent (water) molecules get absorbed on on the surface of the SPM. The adsorbed layer on SPM leads to interaction between the solvent molecules on both side of the SPM. As a result, the solvent molecules can permeate through the SPM. Since the solute molecules don't get absorbed on the membrane, they cannot permeate.