Effect of Reaction Parameters on the Wavelength of Pulse Waves in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reaction-Diffusion System

Abstract

The wavelength of Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) traveling waves is the key factor that limits the scale of BZ self-oscillating gel motors. To achieve control of the wavelength, it is necessary to evaluate the wavelength dependence on species concentrations and temperature. In this work, the effect of reaction parameters on the wavelength of BZ pulse waves was studied. The most effective way to reduce the wavelength of pulse waves is to increase the concentration of organic species and/or the temperature. Decreasing the concentration of bromate, hydrogen ion, or metal catalyst also reduces the wavelength of pulse waves. This work provides a convenient and direct method to produce sub-millimeter BZ waves, which could be applied to designing BZ wave-driven small-scale gel motors as well as providing insight into other emergent behaviors of self-oscillating gels.