Mechanism of the Bray–Liebhafsky reaction: effect of the oxidation of iodous acid by hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

The mechanism of the Bray–Liebhafsky oscillatory reaction is considered. The additional reaction of oxidation of the iodine in HIO₂ by hydrogen peroxide is added to the main subset common to all the variants of the previously postulated model for the overall process. A stability analysis of the proposed mechanism has been carried out. A better accordance between the theoretical model and experimental observations is obtained. In particular, the clear iodide maximum at the beginning of reaction followed by the period of smooth catalysis of hydrogen peroxide decomposition prior to the commencement of oscillations, which are the well-known experimental features taking place at sufficiently large acidities and hydrogen peroxide concentrations, are simulated numerically.