A Survey of Oscillatory Reactions

Oscillations have been found in numerous catalytic systems. At least 24 different oscillating reactions are reported in the literature, involving catalysts ranging from noble metal single-crystal surfaces to zeolites. Table I lists the reactions that have been observed to oscillate and also briefly indicates the catalyst, the pressure regime, and the type of the reactor in which the oscillations have occurred. 

In Table I the high-vacuum (HV) range means a pressure of 10 to 10 Torr entries designated by Torr mean pressures between 0.1 and 10 Torr flow refers to an unspecified steady-state flow pattern. It is apparent from Table I that there is a great diversity in the different oscillation conditions and catalytic systems. The pressures under which oscillations have been observed vary from 10 Torr for the CO/NO reaction on Pt(lOO) 141, 142) to atmospheric pressure for a large number of systems. The reactors used in these studies include ultrahigh-vacuum (UHV) systems, continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs), flow reactors, and reactors designed as infrared (IR) cells, calorimeters, and ellipsometric systems. 

The wide range of reaction systems, catalysts, and reactors that exhibit oscillatory reaction rates reinforces the motivation for research in this field. Oscillations may be lurking in every heterogeneous catalytic system (one might speculate that every heterogeneously catalyzed reaction might show oscillations under the appropriate conditions), and it is crucial to know about this possibility when engineering a chemical process. 

Just as there are numerous systems that display oscillations, so too are there numerous ways in which the oscillatory behavior manifests. The observed oscillation patterns include approximately sinusoidal time series, relaxation-type oscillations (the reaction remains in one state for most of the 

Reaction rate oscillations may be accompanied by temperature oscillations [temperature fluctuations of up to 500 K have been reported (24)] or they may be isothermal. Isothermality occurs either because the catalyst can conduct heat away much faster than the rate at which it is produced by the reaction, as is the case in UHV studies, or because isothermal conditions are forced on the system by anemometry, as described in the work of Luss and co-workers (757). Oscillation frequencies can range from more than 10 Hz (24) up to periods of several hours (217,219). Often there is evidence for several time scales in a single oscillating stem. Relatively regular high-frequency oscillations may be superimposed over relaxation oscillations (93,98), with the two types of oscillations caused by different changes on the catalyst surface. 

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