Cobaltolator: a skeleton model for the oscillatory oxidation of benzaldehyde

Abstract

The oscillatory catalyzed oxidation of benzaldehyde by air has been simulated by a skeleton model with only three independent composition variables and four chemical steps, one of which is reversible. The model also u s a two disposable stoichiometric parameters, but we believe it is the sparsest model that has ever been proposed for simulating a real chemical oscillator with three or more variables. Our calculations have produced good approximations not only to the oscillations observed experimentally but also to the traveling waves that have recently been reported. A more complete mechanism derived from the processes proposed previously will also generate oscillations for selected values of the rate constants.