Pattern Formation in Homogeneous and Micro-Structured Chemical Systems

佛罗里达州立大学的奥利弗Steinbock得到了理论和计算化学项目的支持，以研究均匀和微结构化学系统中的模式信息，并开发新的实验方法来控制潜在的空间耦合。 研究了1，4-环己二酮Belousov-Zhabotinsky（CHD-BZ）反应中反常色散的化学起源，并利用所得结果建立了一个反应模型，该模型能够再现搅拌反应体系中的实验观测结果。 结合数值和实验的方法将被用来提取的空间扩展介质的特性，并分析之间的相互作用的吸引力和排斥力的相互作用行进的氧化脉冲和由此产生的冲击状的前动态。 在其他研究中，CHD-BZ反应将作为大型耦合微反应器阵列中化学自组织的模型。 最近开发的方法，例如软光刻，将用于构建定制阵列，其中每个反应器将容纳小于100皮升的聚合物结合CHD-BZ体积。 这些反应堆阵列将被用来研究一个广泛的化学不稳定性，产生新的波结构和图灵样图案。 结果预计将导致实验策略，以控制反应的微型图案化的反应器芯片和管理本地化的“芯片实验室”过程的空间耦合的规则的透彻理解。 最终，这些结果将为系统地探索生物物质成功利用的那种分隔反应-传输系统提供有价值的信息，用于各种复杂的合成和传感器。这个研究项目是高度跨学科的，因为它的基本结果将有助于分析生物学和其他领域的复杂系统。 特别是，结果将影响神经生理学，工程学和统计物理学的各个领域。 此外，空间耦合微反应器阵列的开发和制造有望在未来的先进组合化学中应用。 制造的反应堆阵列将广泛提供给其他研究小组使用。

Oliver Steinbock of Florida State University is supported by the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to examine pattern information in homogeneous and micro-structured chemical systems, and to develop novel experimental methodologies for control of the underlying spatial coupling. The chemical origins of the anomalous dispersion in the 1,4-cyclohexanedione Belousov-Zhabotinsky (CHD-BZ) reaction will be investigated, and the results utilize to formulate a reaction model capable of reproducing experimental observations from stirred reaction systems. Combined numerical and experimental approaches will be used to distill the characteristic features of spatially extended media, and also to analyze the interplay of attractive and repulsive interactions between traveling oxidation pulses and the resulting shock-like front dynamics. In other studies, the CHD-BZ reaction will serve as a model for chemical self-organization in large arrays of coupled micro-reactors. Recently developed methodologies, such as soft photolithography, will be applied for construction of custom-made arrays in which each reactor will hold a polymer-bound CHD-BZ volume of less than 100 picoliters. These reactor arrays will be employed to examine a broad spectrum of chemical instabilities that give rise to novel wave structures and Turing-like patterns. Results are expected to lead to experimental strategies to control reactions on micro-patterned reactor chips and a thorough understanding of the rules that govern spatial coupling of localized "lab-on-a-chip" processes. Ultimately, the outcomes will contribute valuable information for systematic exploration of compartmentalized reaction-transport systems of the sort that are successfully exploited by living matter for a variety of complex syntheses and sensors. This research project is highly interdisciplinary because its fundamental results will aid in the analysis of complex systems in biology and elsewhere. In particular, the outcomes will impact the diverse fields of neurophysiology, engineering, and statistical physics. Moreover, the development and fabrication of spatially coupled micro-reactor arrays is expected to have promise for future applications in advanced combinatorial chemistry. The manufactured reactor arrays will be made broadly available to other research groups for their use.