Periodic perturbation of chemical oscillators: entrainment and induced synchronization.

It is well known that a large number of catalyst-carrying beads immersed in an oscillatory chemical medium (Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction) display collective oscillatory behavior. Using a light sensitive version of BZ, we show that this collective behavior can be entrained to an external light source with an oscillatory intensity. Thus, the emerging collective behavior can be controlled by an external perturbation.

Self-organized tubular structures as platforms for quantum dots.

The combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches offers great opportunities for the production of complex materials and devices. We demonstrate this approach by incorporating luminescent CdSe-ZnS nanoparticles into macroscopic tube structures that form as the result of externally controlled self-organization. The 1-2 mm wide hollow tubes consist of silica-supported zinc oxide/hydroxide and are formed by controlled injection of aqueous zinc sulfate into a sodium silicate solution.

Postsynthetic processing of copper hydroxide-silica tubes.

Using reaction conditions far from equilibrium, we produce hollow tubes of silica-supported Cu(OH)2. The samples are then processed postsynthetically without compromising the macroscopic tubular structure. We specifically induce an amorphous-crystalline transition and demonstrate the sequential conversion of Cu(OH)2 to CuO, Cu2O, and metallic copper using thermal treatment and wet chemistry.

Nonequilibrium synthesis of silica-supported magnetite tubes and mechanical control of their magnetic properties.

Materials synthesis far from thermodynamic equilibrium can yield hierarchical order that spans from molecular to macroscopic length scales. Here we report the nonequilibrium formation of millimeter-scale iron oxide-silica tubes in experiments that tightly control the tube radius and growth speed. The experiments involve the hydrodynamic injection of an iron (II,III) solution into a large volume of solution containing sodium silicate and ammonium hydroxide.

Tubular precipitation structures: materials synthesis under non-equilibrium conditions.

Inorganic precipitation reactions are known to self-organize a variety of macroscopic structures, including hollow tubes. We discuss recent advances in this field with an emphasis on experiments similar to 'silica gardens'. These reactions involve metal salts and sodium silicate solution.

Propagating fronts in thin tubes: concentration, electric, and pH effects in a two-dimensional precipitation pulse system.

In this paper, we studied the dynamics of a CaCO3 precipitate deposition pulse in a thin, long tube connecting two reservoir sinks of coprecipitates. The pulse profile, as well as the time t(c) and distance x(c) of the first appearance of precipitate, is studied as a function of the initial concentration of CO(3)(2-) in the right reservoir, [CO(3)(2-)](0), and later as a function of an applied external electric field at different voltages. The time variations of the pulse location and the pH at the center of the tube are determined.