Fluctuation-induced pattern formation in a surface reaction

Abstract

Spontaneous nucleation, pulse formation and propagation failure have been observed experimentally in CO oxidation on Pt(110) at intermediate pressures (≈ 10–2 mbar). This phenomenon can be reproduced with a stochastic model that includes temperature effects. Nucleation occurs randomly due to fluctuations in the reaction processes, whereas the subsequent damping out essentially follows the deterministic path. Conditions for the occurrence of stochastic effects in the pattern formation during CO oxidation on Pt are discussed.