Auto-oscillations in the Rates of Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions

Experimental data on the auto-oscillations in the rates of heterogeneous catalytic reactions are surveyed and the physicochemical principles of the origin of this phenomenon are examined. It is shown that the auto-oscillations can be due to a change in the properties of the catalyst under the influence of adsorbed reactants or reactants dissolved in a thin surface layer of the catalyst. Kinetic models of the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen on nickel and platinum catalysts, the phase plots of which contain limiting cycles, are examined in detail and models are presented for the auto-oscillations in the rate of reaction of oxygen with carbon monoxide on platinum catalysts. The importance of the auto-oscillations in the reaction rate for the development of the theory of heterogeneous catalysis is discussed.
The bibliography includes 69 references.