Simulation of a Crossover from the Precipitation Wave to Moving Liesegang Pattern Formation

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry. A, Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory Vol. 109; no. 5; pp. 730 - 733
• Main Authors: Izsák, Ferenc, Lagzi, István
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 10.02.2005
• ISSN: 1089-5639; 1520-5215
• DOI: 10.1021/jp047111v

Model simulations to investigate the precipitation wave phenomenon and a crossover from the precipitation wave to moving Liesegang patterns were performed. The chemical scheme contains four chemical species via the interaction of precipitation and redissolution (complex formation), in which the precipitation reaction term was based on Ostwald's supersaturation theory. In this article, for the first time, all the features and behaviors of the heterogeneous traveling waves are reproduced, which were observed experimentally in the work of Zrínyi et al. (Zrínyi, et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1991, 95, 1618.). The detailed investigation of the pattern formation showed three possible states of the system, which depend on the initial concentration of the inner and outer electrolytes, respectively. These are the precipitation wave (single moving precipitation band), the moving Liesegang pattern (moving precipitation bands), and the state where these two patterns coexist.