Abstract
The autocatalytic reaction between ferrous ion and nitric acid has been studied at 25 °C in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor. The system exhibits bistability as a function of flow rate for a wide range of Fe(II) and HN03 input fluxes. The results obtained are in good agreement with a seven-step mechanism proposed earlier to account for the batch ferrous-nitric acid clock reaction. The possibility of constructing a chemical oscillator based on this system is discussed briefly.