Issue 8, 2002

Regular microscopic patterns produced by simple reaction–diffusion systems

Abstract

Simple inorganic reactions, coupled with diffusion, are able to produce regular patterns of characteristic length scales of 10 µm. Solutions of CuCl2 or AgNO3 are homogenised in poly(vinyl)alcohol gel, and NaOH is allowed to diffuse into the gel. Reaction of the NaOH solution with the electrolyte present in the gel forms precipitates, which can show several types of primary (macroscopic) patterns, including spirals and target-like patterns. Depending on the velocity of the reaction front, the colloidal precipitate developed in this chemical reaction can yield a microscopic structure consisting of ordered sheets of particles. Conditions of formation and characterisation of the secondary (microscopic) patterns are presented. Emergence and disappearance of defects in these structures are also investigated. Possible theoretical explanation and technological applications of the microscopic patterns are discussed.

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Aug 2001
Accepted
23 Nov 2001
First published
15 Jan 2002

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2002,4, 1262-1267

Regular microscopic patterns produced by simple reaction–diffusion systems

P. Hantz, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2002, 4, 1262 DOI: 10.1039/B107742B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements