Oscillating reactions are a field in chemistry which encompass the foundations of numerical modeling, non-linear dynamics, and the theories behind organic interactions. Varying parameters such as the temperature, concentration, type of catalyst, and organic substrate, have profound physical effects on the reaction, such as changing the period of oscillation, the induction time, and color of the reaction. Due to all of these variances, extensive research has gone into exactly how these reactions occur and how they can help us learn more about our world, such as the development of an embryo or the beating of a heart. In the past, researchers have been successful at better understanding these highly complicated phenomena by applying coupled differential equations and numerical methods to the chemistry of the reaction. In this project we will connect experimental data produced by varying the parameters of the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction to mathematical models derived from the Oregonator (a set of differential equations proposed by R. Field and R. M. Noyes in 1974). In so doing, we hope to determine which constants within the equations are responsible for each physical change in the reaction, with the specific goal to develop a laboratory for undergraduate physical chemistry students. This laboratory will compare reaction properties for two organic substrates, malonic acid and methyl malonic acid. Students will record reaction periods and induction times at five temperatures for both substrates using a bromide selective probe. The Arrhenius relationship and the Oregonator equations will be used to analyze their data. Throughout this work we hope to learn more about the connection between theoretical and experimental non-linear dynamics, and in the process help others do the same.

Colors in chaos: An in-depth study of chemical oscillations

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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