Pattern Formation in Homogeneous and Micro-Structured Chemical Systems

佛罗里达州立大学的Oliver Steinbock在理论和计算化学项目的支持下，研究同质和微观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）反应中异常分散的化学根源，并利用结果建立了一个能够再现搅拌反应体系实验观察结果的反应模型。将采用数值和实验相结合的方法来提取空间扩展介质的特征特征，并分析旅行氧化脉冲之间的吸引和排斥相互作用以及由此产生的类激波锋面动力学。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，如软光刻技术，将应用于建造定制阵列，其中每个反应器将容纳一个聚合物结合的CHD-BZ体积小于100皮升。这些反应堆阵列将被用来研究广泛的化学不稳定性，从而产生新的波结构和图灵模式。研究结果有望导致控制微图案反应堆芯片上反应的实验策略，并彻底理解控制局部“芯片上实验室”过程空间耦合的规则。最终，这些结果将为系统探索分隔反应-运输系统提供有价值的信息，这种系统已被生物物质成功地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，其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高级组合化学中得到应用。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.