DETAILED CALCULATIONS MODELING THE OSCILLATORY BRAY-LIEBHAFSKY REACTION

The Bray-Liebhafsky reaction exhibits oscillations in the concentrations of iodine, iodide, and other species during the iodate-catalyzed decomposition of acidic hydrogen peroxide. We have assigned rate constants to a previously proposed mechanism and have reproduced the major features of experimental observations. The calculations are critically dependent upon the modeling of release of supersaturation by dissolved oxygen; we could not generate more than a few strongly damped oscillations unless we built replenishment of hydrogen peroxide into the model. The mechanism as developed uses only well known types of chemical species and elementary processes and is consistent with known rate constants and free energies of formation. Because we have reproduced such complicated behavior in spite of these severe restrictions, we believe the essential features of the proposed mechanism are strongly supported. © 1979 American Chemical Society.