The Briggs–Rauscher Reaction: A Demonstration of Sequential Spatiotemporal Patterns

The Briggs–Rauscher reaction is a popular demonstration to illustrate chemical oscillations in laboratories, classrooms, and public seminars because of its simplicity and visual appeal. Here, we adapt the Briggs–Rauscher reaction to present reaction–diffusion–convection patterns in the undergraduate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical education 2021-02, Vol.98 (2), p.665-668
Main Authors: Li, Zhuoxuan, Yuan, Ling, Liu, Mengfei, Cheng, Zhenfang, Zheng, Juhua, Epstein, Irving R, Gao, Qingyu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical reactions
Chemistry
College Science
Concept Formation
Convection
Demonstrations (Educational)
Oscillators
Physical chemistry
Potassium
Science Instruction
Science Laboratories
Scientific Concepts
Undergraduate Study
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Summary:The Briggs–Rauscher reaction is a popular demonstration to illustrate chemical oscillations in laboratories, classrooms, and public seminars because of its simplicity and visual appeal. Here, we adapt the Briggs–Rauscher reaction to present reaction–diffusion–convection patterns in the undergraduate general or physical chemistry laboratory. By maintaining the ratio between malonic acid and potassium iodate concentrations as 0.2 in an uncovered Petri dish, sequential patterns (transient dendritic patterns and rotating dendritic patterns) can be observed, which are induced by the interaction of reaction, diffusion, and convection. This beautiful demonstration captures students’ attention and inspires reflection and discussion about similar phenomena in nature as well as the wealth of behaviors in systems far from equilibrium.
ISSN:0021-9584
1938-1328
DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00892