DIFFUSION-DRIVEN FRONT INSTABILITIES IN THE CHLORITE-TETRATHIONATE REACTION

An extensive study on the instabilities of planar fronts leading to th e formation of cellular structures has been carried out in the acid-ca talyzed chlorite-tetrathionate reaction. A simple two-variable model b ased on the empirical rate law of the reaction is developed to describ e the observed pattern formation. The calculated onset of instability and the size of the patterns in the cellular fronts are in good agreem ent with experimental observations. (C) 1998 American Institute of Phy sics. [S0021-9606(98)50904-X].