Diffusion-driven instabilities in the BT-GN oscillatory carbonylation reaction network.

Area of Science:

• Chemical kinetics
• Reaction-diffusion systems
• Nonlinear dynamics

Background:

• Oscillatory reactions are crucial in chemical processes.
• Understanding instabilities is key to controlling reaction networks.
• The Bruk Temkin-Gorodsky Novakovic (BT-GN) reaction network exhibits complex dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of diffusion in generating instabilities within the BT-GN reaction network.
• To identify feedback mechanisms contributing to these instabilities.
• To derive conditions for the emergence of diffusion-driven instabilities.

Main Methods:

• Stoichiometric network analysis.
• Numerical simulations of reaction-diffusion systems.
• Analysis of spatially uniform and non-uniform systems.
• Derivation of mathematical conditions for instability emergence.

Main Results:

• Identified two destabilizing feedback cycles within the BT-GN network.
• Confirmed saddle-node bifurcation in a spatially uniform system.
• Observed two types of diffusion-induced instabilities: reaction-diffusion fronts and destabilization of stable uniform systems.
• Determined that slower palladium iodide (PdI2) diffusion is critical for inducing instabilities.

Conclusions:

• Diffusion significantly impacts the stability of the BT-GN oscillatory carbonylation reaction.
• Slower diffusion, particularly of PdI2, can induce instabilities in otherwise stable systems.
• Mathematical models were developed to predict the onset of these reaction-diffusion instabilities.