Chlorite-Iodide-Malonic Acid (CIMA) Reaction

The Demonstration presents the chlorite-iodide-malonic acid (CIMA) reaction, which gives rise to temporal oscillations.

The reaction scheme is:

,

where and .

The dimensionless governing equations are:

,

.

Oscillating patterns are observed for . In fact, oscillations are obtained in snapshot 1 for and . The phase-plane diagram shows a limit cycle.

On the other hand, a stable steady state is found for and (snapshot 3). Phase-plane analysis shows a stable node. The locations of the selected parameter values are plotted in the stability diagram that demarcates the parameter space between limit cycles (periodic oscillations) and damped oscillations.