33878-10-3Relevant articles and documents
Effect of Trace Impurities on a Bifurcation Structure in the Belousov-Zhabotinski Reaction and Preparation of High-Purity Malonic Acid
Noszticzius, Zoltan,McCormick, William D.,Swinney, Harry L.
, p. 5129 - 5134 (2007/10/02)
We have found that impurities on the ppm level in malonic acid are sufficient to alter dramatically a sequence of bifurcations in the Belousov-Zhabotinskii (BZ) reaction.Samples of malonic acid from 15 vendors were tested, and each was found to contain one or more of the following impurities that effect the reaction dynamics: iron, paraformaldehyde, ethanol, methanol, ethyl ester, and methyl ester.We describe a straightforward procedure for purifying malonic acid.Reproducible bifurcation structures can only be observed with the highly purified malonic acid.Measurements with varying amounts of the above-mentioned impurities added to purified malonic acid show the striking effect of impurities on the dynamics of the BZ reaction.