The Source of the Carbon Monoxide in the Classical Belousov−Zhabotinsky Reaction

Abstract

CO and CO2 evolution was measured in a cerium and in a ferroin-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. These gases were stripped from the reaction mixture by a N2 carrier gas, mixed with H2, converted to methane on a Ni catalyst, and then measured by a flame ionization detector (FID). CO could be detected separately by absorbing CO2 on a soda lime column. In separate experiments it was proven that CO is produced in a reaction of BrO2* radicals with bromomalonic acid (BrMA). To this end BrO2(.-) radicals were generated in two different ways: (i) in the reaction HBrO2 + HBrO3 <--> 2 BrO2(.-) + H2O and (ii) by reducing HBrO3 to BrO2(.-) by Fe(2+). It was found that (.-)OH radicals--produced by Fenton's reagent--can also generate CO from BrMA. We propose that CO can be formed when an inorganic radical (like BrO2(.-) or (.-)OH) reacts with the enol form of BrMA producing an acyl radical which decarbonylates in the next step. Malonic acid (MA)-BrMA mixtures were prepared by a new method modifying Zaikin and Zhabotinsky's original recipe to minimize the production of dibromomalonic acid (Br2MA).