Autocatalytic flow chemistry

Abstract

Autocatalysis is a crucial process of nonequilibrium self-organization in nature and is assumed to play a role in the origin of life. The essential dynamical phenomena of an autocatalytic reaction network are bistability and the development of propagating front when combined with diffusion. The presence of bulk fluid motion may widen the range of emerging behavior in those systems. Many aspects of the dynamics of autocatalytic reactions in a continuous flow have already been studied, especially the shape and dynamics of the chemical front and the influence of the chemical reactions on hydrodynamic instabilities. This paper aims to provide experimental evidence of bistability and related dynamical phenomena, such as excitability and oscillations in autocatalytic reactions performed in a tubular flow reactor, where the flow is laminar and advection is the dominating transport process. We show that the linear residence time ramp may result in the simultaneous appearance of different dynamic states along the length of the pipe. Therefore, long tubular reactors offer a unique opportunity to quickly explore the dynamics of reaction networks. These findings enhance our understanding of nonlinear flow chemistry and its role in natural pattern formation.