REACTION-MECHANISM FOR LIGHT SENSITIVITY OF THE RU(BPY)(3)(2-CATALYZED BELOUSOV-ZHABOTINSKY REACTION())

The effects of light on the Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotin sky (BZ) reaction are investigated. Experiments were carried out on an organic subset of the reaction comprised of bromomalonic acid, sulfur ic acid, and Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) as well as on an inorganic subset comprise d of bromate, sulfuric acid, and Ru(bpy)(3)(2+). Experiments were also carried out on the full Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-catalyzed BZ system. The exper iments, together with modeling studies utilizing an Oregonator scheme modified to account for the light sensitivity, show that irradiation g ives rise to two separate processes: the photochemical production of b romide from bromomalonic acid and the photochemical production of brom ous acid from bromate.