Abstract
We present an experimental and numerical study of the chlorine dioxide−iodide (CDI) reaction in a single, well-stirred, flow-through reactor with feedback regulation of flow rate in three different arrangements. The control is accomplished through a computer-mediated sigmoidal dependence of the dynamic flow rate(s) on the iodide concentration. Numerical simulations predict interesting dynamics in the CDI reaction system, which, without control, displays only steady-state and/or simple periodic oscillations. Our experiments confirm that bursting emerges as a result of the feedback control. We attribute bursting to the coexistence of the stable steady state and oscillations in the uncontrolled system. A period doubling sequence leading to chaos results from the nonlinear dependence of the oscillatory period on the flow rate in the vicinity of a Hopf bifurcation point.