The role of radicals in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

A new theory of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, the Radicalator model, is presented. This model is based on a negative feedback loop involving a fast reaction between malonyl and bromine dioxide radicals. Experimental evidence for the validity of the model is given for BZ systems in 3 M and 1 M sulfuric acid solution.     

Noise-induced order in the chaos of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

Noise can stabilize a metastable state in such a way that the system remains in this state for a longer time than in the absence of noise. When this phenomenon is observed in chaos, it is called "noise-induced order." We have experimentally detected noise-induced order in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. That is, when noise is added to the chaos with the flow rate near the period-three oscillation, a decrease of the maximum Lyapunov exponent and a convergence of the Fourier spectrum are observed. Moreover, the analysis on the one-dimensional return map reveals that noise-induced order is caused by the convergence of the chaotic trajectory into the laminar region.     

Artificial-intelligence-based interpretation of feature sensitivities of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

A new approach is presented for analyzing kinetic models of relaxation-type oscillatory systems on the basis of numerical data. Feature sensitivities of the length of the two kinetic states of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction with respect to the rate constants of the model are explained by means of a logic-based inference system. The main kinetic roles of the individual reaction steps on the relaxing components are revealed, and a consistent interpretation of the kinetic states is given by this process. Both the high and the low set of rate constants were studied. According to our analysis, the bromous acid-hypobromous acid reaction is an important Br^? producing step of the model, and in the case of the low set, the bromate-bromous acid reaction is not the rate-determining step of the bromous acid autocatalysis.     

Photoexcited chemical wave in the ruthenium-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

The excitation of the photosensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction induced by light stimulation was systematically investigated. A stepwise increase in the light intensity induced the excitation, whereas a stepwise decrease did not induce the excitation. The threshold values for the excitation were found to be a function of the initial and final light intensities, time variation in light intensity, and the concentration of NaBrO(3). The experimental results were qualitatively reproduced by a theoretical calculation based on a three-variable Oregonator model modified for the photosensitive BZ reaction. These results suggest that although the steady light irradiation is known to inhibit oscillation and chemical waves in the BZ system under almost all conditions, the stepwise increase in the light irradiation leads to the rapid production of an activator, resulting in the photoexcitation.     

Effect of electromagnetic radiation on the Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillating reaction

The effect of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency close to the maximum of absorption of atmospheric oxygen on the Briggs-Rauscher self-oscillating reaction is described. It is shown that the radiation intensifies oxygen production and lengthens the duration of the self-oscillating regime by more than 20%.     

Investigation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction by thermal lensing

The supramolecular interaction of rubidate (chemically 2,3-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydroxy-diethyl ester) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) has been studied by spectrofluorimetry. The influence of temperature on the supramolecular system has also been investigated and the thermodynamic parameters were calculated. The results show that beta-CD reacts with rubidate to form a 1:1 host-guest complex with an apparent association constant of 566+/-23 l mol(-1). It was also demonstrated that the thermodynamics of beta-CD-rubidate complex displayed a compensatory enthalpy-entropy relationship. Based on the significant enhancement of the fluorescence intensity of rubidate produced through complex formation, a spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of rubidate in bulk aqueous solution in the presence of beta-CD was developed. The linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity and rubidate concentration was obtained in the range from 2.7x10(-2) to 3.0 mug ml(-1), with a correlation coefficient of 0.9988. The detection limit was 8.2 ng ml(-1) and the relative standard deviation was 1.6%. There was no interference from the excipients normally used in tablet formulations. The application of the present method to the determination of rubidate in tablets gave satisfactory results and was compared with the reference method.     

Realistic parameters for simple models of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

We use experimental results to estimate the values of parameters of simple models describing the time evolution of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction proceeding in droplets surrounded by hydrocarbons. The equations with fitted parameters correctly describe the period of oscillations for a large class of experimental conditions at which the reaction is performed.     

Sensitivity analysis of the two kinetic states of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

A recently published kinetic model of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction was studied by the feature sensitivity analysis of the slow bromide consumption and slow bromide production periods of the relaxing-type oscillatory system. The computed sensitivities allowed us to reveal the kinetic importance of the 17 individual reactions during the two, “kinetically homogeneous” states of the oscillation. Similarities and differences in the relative kinetic importances of the reaction steps were carefully studied when changing the magnitude of the rate constants (high set and low set). Of the 17 reactions examined, the attack of Ce⁴⁺ on malonic acid proved to be an essential step of the mechanism. Using the low set, there emerge more reactions which significantly affect the length of the two kinetic states.     

甘草参与的B-Z振荡反应研究

以H+-Mn2+-BrO-3-CH3COCH3-甘草组成的化学振荡体系,应用电化学工作站记录电位(E)随时间(t)的变化,绘制化学振荡曲线.通过考察反应条件及反应物的浓度等因素对振荡曲线的影响,优化最佳的振荡反应条件,计算反应的活化能,推断反应的机理.为利用此方法鉴别中草药及研究中药治疗疾病提供理论依据.     

The source of the carbon monoxide in the classical Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

CO and CO2 evolution was measured in a cerium and in a ferroin-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. These gases were stripped from the reaction mixture by a N2 carrier gas, mixed with H2, converted to methane on a Ni catalyst, and then measured by a flame ionization detector (FID). CO could be detected separately by absorbing CO2 on a soda lime column. In separate experiments it was proven that CO is produced in a reaction of BrO2* radicals with bromomalonic acid (BrMA). To this end BrO2(.-) radicals were generated in two different ways: (i) in the reaction HBrO2 + HBrO3 <--> 2 BrO2(.-) + H2O and (ii) by reducing HBrO3 to BrO2(.-) by Fe(2+). It was found that (.-)OH radicals--produced by Fenton's reagent--can also generate CO from BrMA. We propose that CO can be formed when an inorganic radical (like BrO2(.-) or (.-)OH) reacts with the enol form of BrMA producing an acyl radical which decarbonylates in the next step. Malonic acid (MA)-BrMA mixtures were prepared by a new method modifying Zaikin and Zhabotinsky's original recipe to minimize the production of dibromomalonic acid (Br2MA).     

Density changes accompanying wave propagation in the cerium-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

Refractive index measurement using an interferometric imaging system and observation of chemical wave shapes were carried out during chemical wave propagation of a cerium-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. Densities increased as chemical waves propagated in samples without NaBr, and decreased in samples with NaBr. Concentration changes of malonic acid, bromomalonic acid, and BrO3- were estimated from Raman spectral measurements in a stirred batch BZ reaction, and these also exhibited differences between samples with and without NaBr. It is proposed that a reaction subset yielding low molecular weight carboxylic acids is predominant in samples with NaBr, whereas a pathway leading to dibromoacetic acid or tribromoacetic acid production is the major process in samples without NaBr.     

New substrates in Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction employing mixed media

Several substrates have been employed in different oscillatory systems. A serious limitation is the low solubility in water. This has been overcome by employing aqueous-organic mixed media in the iodate-system as well as the uncatalyzed and catalyzed [Ce(III) or Ferroin] systems. The present paper deals with the study of fifteen new substrates in the bromate-Mn(II) oscillatory system employing aqueous-organic mixed media.

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. . , - , (Ce(III) ), . -Mn(II) - .

     

Temperature influence on the malonic acid decomposition in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

The kinetic investigations of the malonic acid decomposition (8.00 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³ ≤ [CH₂(COOH)₂]₀ ≤ 4.30 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³) in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) system in the presence of bromate, bromide, sulfuric acid and cerium sulfate, were performed in the isothermal closed well stirred reactor at different temperatures (25.0°C ≤ T ≤ 45.0°C). The formal kinetics of the overall BZ reaction, and particularly kinetics in characteristic periods of BZ reaction, based on the analyses of the bromide oscillograms, was accomplished. The evolution as well as the rate constants and the apparent activation energies of the reactions, which exist in the preoscillatory and oscillatory periods, are also successfully calculated by numerical simulations. Simulations are based on the model including the Br₂O species. The article is published in the original.     

Bromide control, bifurcation and activation in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

The unstirred, ferroin (Fe(phen)3(2+)) catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is the prototype oscillatory chemical system. Reaction media with added Br(-) appear red (reduced, low [Fe(phen)3(3+)]) during an induction period of several minutes, followed by the "spontaneous" formation of "pacemaker" sites, which oscillate between a blue, oxidized state (high [Fe(phen)3(3+)]) and the red, reduced state and generate target patterns of concentric, outwardly moving waves of oxidation (blue). Auto-oscillatory behavior is also seen in the Oregonator model of Field, Koros and Noyes (FKN), a robust, reduced model that captures qualitative BZ kinetics in the auto-oscillatory regime. However, the Oregonator model predicts a blue (oxidized) induction phase. Here we develop a generalized Oregonator-like model with no explicit bifurcation parameter that yields the observed transition from a red initial state to oscillatory dynamics, and displays a new bifurcation mechanism not seen in the original Oregonator.     

Towards constructing multi-bit binary adder based on Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

It has been proposed that the spatial excitable media can perform a wide range of computational operations, from image processing, to path planning, to logical and arithmetic computations. The realizations in the field of chemical logical and arithmetic computations are mainly concerned with single simple logical functions in experiments. In this study, based on Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, we performed simulations toward the realization of a more complex operation, the binary adder. Combining with some of the existing functional structures that have been verified experimentally, we designed a planar geometrical binary adder chemical device. Through numerical simulations, we first demonstrated that the device can implement the function of a single-bit full binary adder. Then we show that the binary adder units can be further extended in plane, and coupled together to realize a two-bit, or even multi-bit binary adder. The realization of chemical adders can guide the constructions of other sophisticated arithmetic functions, ultimately leading to the implementation of chemical computer and other intelligent systems.     

Terpyridine- and bipyridine-based ruthenium complexes as catalysts for the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

We report the successful use of Ru(II)(terpy)(2) (1, terpy = 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine) as a catalyst in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) oscillating chemical reaction. We also examine several additional Ru(II) complexes, Ru(II)(bipy)(2)(L')(2) (2, L' = 4-pyridinecarboxylic acid; bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and Ru(II)(bipy)(2)(L') (3, L' = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipy; 4, L' = N-allyl-4'-methyl-[2,2'-bipy]-4-carboxamide; 5, L' = bipy), for catalyzing the BZ reaction. While 2 is unable to trigger BZ oscillations, probably because of the rapid loss of L' in a BZ solution, the other bipyridine-based Ru(II)-complexes can catalyze the BZ reaction, although their catalytic activity is adversely affected by slow ligand substitution in a BZ solution. Nevertheless, the successfully tested Ru(II)(terpy)(2) and Ru(II)(bipy)(2)(L') catalysts may provide useful building blocks for complex functional macromolecules.     

Self-oscillation of polymer chains induced by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction under acid-free conditions

A novel self-oscillating polymer was prepared by utilizing the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. In this study, a sulfonic acid group was newly introduced as a pH-control site into the copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide, and the ruthenium complex was introduced as a catalyst site. By introducing the pH-control site, we succeed in causing the soluble-insoluble self-oscillation of the polymer solution under acid-free conditions in which only two BZ substrates, malonic acid and sodium bromate, were present as added agents. The self-oscillating behavior was remarkably influenced by the temperature and polymer concentration, which reflects the intermolecular aggregative capacity of the polymer chains in the reduced state to change the lower critical solution temperature. This achievement of self-oscillation of polymer chains under acid-free conditions may lead to their practical use as novel biomimetic materials under biological conditions.     

Magnetic field effect on chemical wave propagation from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

Effects of magnetic field (maximum field, 4 and 93 T(2) m(-1)) on the propagation speed of a chemical wavefront from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction were studied in a thin glass tube. The downward and upward speed and the horizontal one are, respectively affected significantly by vertical and horizontal magnetic fields. Observations of the wavefront shape in magnetic fields showed that the magnetic force-induced convection causes the observed effects.