BelousovZhabotinsky reaction

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A BelousovZhabotinsky reaction, or BZ reaction, is one of a

class of reactions that serve as a classical example of non-
equilibrium thermodynamics, resulting in the establishment of a
nonlinear chemical oscillator. The only common element in these
oscillators is the inclusion of bromine and an acid. The reactions
are important to theoretical chemistry in that they show that
chemical reactions do not have to be dominated by equilibrium
thermodynamic behavior. These reactions are far from equilibrium
and remain so for a significant length of time and evolve
chaotically. In this sense, they provide an interesting chemical
model of nonequilibrium biological phenomena, and the
mathematical models of the BZ reactions themselves are of
theoretical interest and simulations.[1]

An essential aspect of the BZ reaction is its so called "excitability"; Computer simulation of the Belousov
under the influence of stimuli, patterns develop in what would Zhabotinsky reaction occurring in a Petri dish
otherwise be a perfectly quiescent medium. Some clock reactions
such as BriggsRauscher and BZ using the
tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride as catalyst can be excited
into self-organising activity through the influence of light.

Contents Patterns shown in the Petri dish

1 History
2 Chemical mechanism
2.1 Variants
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links

History Plot of the electrode potential of a BZ

reaction, using silver electrodes against
The discovery of the phenomenon is credited to Boris Belousov. In an Ag/AgNO3 half-cell
1951, while trying to find the non-organic analog to the Krebs cycle, he
noted that in a mix of potassium bromate, cerium(IV) sulfate, malonic
acid, and citric acid in dilute sulfuric acid, the ratio of concentration of
the cerium(IV) and cerium(III) ions oscillated, causing the colour of the
solution to oscillate between a yellow solution and a colorless solution.
This is due to the cerium(IV) ions being reduced by malonic acid to
cerium(III) ions, which are then oxidized back to cerium(IV) ions by
bromate(V) ions.

Belousov made two attempts to publish his finding, but was rejected on
the grounds that he could not explain his results to the satisfaction of A stirred BZ reaction mixture showing
the editors of the journals to which he submitted his results.[2] Soviet changes in color over time
biochemist Simon El'evich Shnoll encouraged Belousov to continue his efforts to publish his results. In 1959
his work was finally published in a less respectable, nonreviewed journal.[3]

After Belousov's publication, Schnoll gave the project in 1961 to a graduate student, Anatol Zhabotinsky, who
investigated the reaction sequence in detail;[4] however, the results of these men's work were still not widely
disseminated, and were not known in the West until a conference in Prague in 1968.

A number of BZ cocktails are available in the chemical literature and on the web. Ferroin, a complex of
phenanthroline and iron, is a common indicator. These reactions, if carried out in petri dishes, result in the
formation first of colored spots. These spots grow into a series of expanding concentric rings or perhaps
expanding spirals similar to the patterns generated by a cyclic cellular automaton. The colors disappear if the
dishes are shaken, and then reappear. The waves continue until the reagents are consumed. The reaction can
also be performed in a beaker using a magnetic stirrer.

Andrew Adamatzky,[5] a computer scientist in the University of the West of England, reported on liquid logic
gates using the BZ reaction.[6]

Strikingly similar oscillatory spiral patterns appear elsewhere in nature, at very different spatial and temporal
scales, for example the growth pattern of Dictyostelium discoideum, a soil-dwelling amoeba colony.[7] In the
BZ reaction, the size of the interacting elements is molecular and the time scale of the reaction is minutes. In
the case of the soil amoeba, the size of the elements is typical of single-celled organisms and the times involved
are on the order of days to years.

Investigators are also exploring the creation of a "wet computer", using self-creating "cells" and other
techniques to mimic certain properties of neurons.[8]

Chemical mechanism
The mechanism for this reaction is very complex and is thought to involve around 18 different steps which have
been the subject of a number of research papers.[9][10]

In a way similar to the BriggsRauscher reaction, two key processes (both of which are auto-catalytic) occur;
process A generates molecular bromine, giving the red colour, and process B consumes the bromine to give
bromide ions.[11]

One of the most common variations on this reaction uses malonic acid (CH2(CO2H)2) as the acid and
potassium bromate (KBrO3) as the source of bromine. The overall equation is:[11]

3CH2(CO2H)2 + 4BrO3 4Br + 9CO2 + 6H2O

Variants

Many variants of the reaction exist. The only key chemical is the bromate oxidizer. The catalyst ion is most
often cerium, but it can be also manganese, or complexes of iron, ruthenium, cobalt, copper, chromium, silver,
nickel and osmium. Many different reductants can be used. (Zhabotinsky, 1964b; Field and Burger, 1985)[12]

Many different patterns can be observed when the reaction is run in a microemulsion.

See also
Autowave Excitable medium
Autowave reverberator Patterns in nature
BriggsRauscher reaction Reaction-diffusion
Dissipation Self-oscillation
 Self-organization Alan Turing who mathematically predicted
oscillating chemical reactions in the early 1950s

References
1. Zhang, Dongmei; Gyrgyi, Lszl; Peltier, William R. (1993). "Deterministic chaos in the Belousov
Zhabotinsky reaction: Experiments and simulations". Chaos: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear
Science. 3 (4): 723745. Bibcode:1993Chaos...3..723Z (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993Chaos...3..723
Z). PMID 12780076 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12780076). doi:10.1063/1.165933 (https://d
oi.org/10.1063%2F1.165933).
2. Winfree, A. T. (1984). "The Prehistory of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Oscillator" (http://www.usal.es/lices
io/Biofisica/Winfree_JCE1984.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Chemical Education. 61: 661663.
Bibcode:1984JChEd..61..661W (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984JChEd..61..661W).
doi:10.1021/ed061p661 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fed061p661).
3. B. P. Belousov (1959). " " [Periodically acting
reaction and its mechanism]. . 147: 145.
4. A. M. Zhabotinsky (1964). " "
[Periodical process of oxidation of malonic acid solution]. . 9: 306311.
5. "Andy Adamatzky" (http://uncomp.uwe.ac.uk/adamatzky). University of the West of England, Bristol.
6. Motoike, Ikuko N.; Adamatzky, Andrew (2005). "Three-valued logic gates in reactiondiffusion
excitable media". Chaos, Solitons & Fractals. 24: 10714. Bibcode:2005CSF....24..107M (http://adsabs.h
arvard.edu/abs/2005CSF....24..107M). doi:10.1016/j.chaos.2004.07.021 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cha
os.2004.07.021).
7. "Picture Gallery" (http://www.uni-magdeburg.de/abp/picturegallery.htm). Department of Biophysics,
Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg.
8. Palmer, J. (2010-01-11). "Chemical computer that mimics neurons to be created" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/
2/hi/science/nature/8452196.stm). BBC (Science News).
9. Field, Richard J.; Foersterling, Horst Dieter (1986). "On the oxybromine chemistry rate constants with
cerium ions in the Field-Koeroes-Noyes mechanism of the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction: The
equilibrium HBrO2 + BrO3- + H+ .dblharw. 2BrO.ovrhdot.2 + H2O". The Journal of Physical
Chemistry. 90 (21): 54007. doi:10.1021/j100412a101 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fj100412a101).
10. Sirimungkala, Atchara; Frsterling, Horst-Dieter; Dlask, Vladimir; Field, Richard J. (1999).
"Bromination Reactions Important in the Mechanism of the BelousovZhabotinsky System". The
Journal of Physical Chemistry A. 103 (8): 103843. Bibcode:1999JPCA..103.1038S (http://adsabs.harvar
d.edu/abs/1999JPCA..103.1038S). doi:10.1021/jp9825213 (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fjp9825213).
11. Lister, Ted (1995). Classic Chemistry Demonstrations (http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/content/filere
pository/CMP/00/001/001/Classicdemos_full.pdf) (PDF). London: Education Division, The Royal
Society of Chemistry. pp. 34. ISBN 978-1-870343-38-1.
12. http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Belousov-Zhabotinsky_reaction

Further reading
Pabian, R. K.; Zarins, A. Banded Agates, Origins and Inclusions. Educational Circular. 12. University of
Nebraska-Lincoln.
Ichino, T.; Asahi, T.; Kitahata, H.; Magome, N.; Agladze, K.; Yoshikawa, K. (2008). "Microfreight
Delivered by Chemical Waves". Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 112 (8): 30325.
doi:10.1021/jp7097922.

External links
Interactive Science Experiment Showcasing the BZ Reaction (A-Level)
A Survey Article on the Mathematics of the BZ Reaction
The Scholarpedia article on the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction
The BelousovZhabotinski Reaction
The BelousovZhabotinsky Reaction
 The Phenomenology of the BelousovZhabotinsky Reaction, with pictures
BZ reaction and explanation at The Periodic Table of Videos
The BelousovZhabotinski Reaction PDF file
Paper cargo surfs chemical waves Oscillating chemical waves induced by BZ reactions can propel
small objects, New Scientist, 18 February 2008
The home page of Anatol M. Zhabotinsky
Simulating Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reactions in Pixel Bender A simulation of the BelousovZhabotinsky
reaction running inside Flash Player

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