Space-time chaos in reactions of NADH with atmospheric oxygen in the presence of copper(II) complexes

In the oxidation of aqueous solutions of NADH by atmospheric oxygen in the presence of certain copper(II) compounds, an irregularly oscillating timewise change has been observed in the potential of a point platinum electrode (PPE), relative to either a silver chloride electrode or a second PPE located in the same solution. Phase portraits have been constructed on the basis of experimental data for all of the systems that have been investigated. It has been shown that the existence of chaotic oscillations, and also the form of the phase portrait of the systems, depend on the magnitude of the redox potential of the CuL²⁺/CuL⁺ pair. For compounds with E₀=0.60–0.64 V, the phase portrait has the form of a screw-type chaos, which then changes over to Lorentz-type chaos. Only for this group of complexes is chaotic behavior observed when the solution is stirred. For compounds with E₀=0.15–0.41 V, screw-type chaos is observed; and for compounds with E₀<0, no chaotic behavior has been detected.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Eksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 175–184, March–April, 1990.