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Convection-Induced Fingering Fronts in the Chlorite–Trithionate Reaction
Based upon a former study, the chlorite–trithionate reaction can avoid the side reactions arising from the well-known alkaline decomposition of polythionates, making it a suitable candidate for investigating spatial front instabilities in a reaction–diffusion–convection system. In this work, the chl...
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Published in: | The journal of physical chemistry. A, Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory, 2016-04, Vol.120 (16), p.2514-2520 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Based upon a former study, the chlorite–trithionate reaction can avoid the side reactions arising from the well-known alkaline decomposition of polythionates, making it a suitable candidate for investigating spatial front instabilities in a reaction–diffusion–convection system. In this work, the chlorite–trithionate reaction was investigated in a Hele-Shaw cell, in which fingering patterns were observed over a wide range of reactant concentrations. A significant density increment crossing the propagating front indicates that the fingering pattern is generated as a consequence of the buoyancy-driven instability due to the density changes of solute when the gap thickness is less than 4 mm. The velocity of the steepest descent in the propagating front depends almost linearly on the gap thickness but displays a saturation-like profile on the trithionate concentration as well as a maximum on the chlorite concentration. Numerical simulation using the Stokes–Brinkman Equation coupled to the reaction–diffusion processes, including hydrogen ion autocatalysis and consumption, reproduces the observed fingering fronts. |
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ISSN: | 1089-5639 1520-5215 |
DOI: | 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b01192 |