Luminescent chemical waves in the Cu(II)-catalyzed oscillatory oxidation of SCN- ions with hydrogen peroxide

The oscillatory oxidation of thiocyanate ions with hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by Cu2+ ions in alkaline media, was so far observed as occurring simultaneously in the entire space of the batch or flow reactor. We performed this reaction for the first time in the thin-layer reactor and observed the spatiotemporal course of the above process, in the presence of luminol as the chemiluminescent indicator. A series of luminescent patterns periodically starting from the random reaction center and spreading throughout the entire solution layer was reported. For a batch-stirred system, the bursts of luminescence were found to correlate with the steep decreases of the oscillating Pt electrode potential. These novel results open possibilities for further experimental and theoretical investigations of those spatiotemporal patterns, including studies of the mechanism of this chemically complex process.