Dynamics and self-organization of catalytic systems

Abstract

The kinetics of a catalytic reaction is frequently formulated in terms of simple concepts of the Langmuir type. Apart from limitations arising from the non-uniformity of the catalyst's surface and from the coverage dependence of the rate “constants”, several other complications may come into play. These may arise on the “quantum level” where energy flow between the various degrees of freedom may cause failure of simple transition state theory, as well as on the “continuum level” where formulation of rate equations in terms of coupled non-linear differential equations may give rise to a rich scenario of spatio-temporal self-organization, including kinetic oscillations, chaos, and formation of concentration patterns. Several of these phenomena are illustrated by selected examples.