Pattern formation in compartmented systems

Resumo

The purpose of this thesis project is the development of a chemical reaction-diffusion system able to display spatio-temporal structures close to those exhibits in Nature. In our approach to living systems, typically quite heterogeneous, we propose the employment of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction confined in Aerosol OT water-in-oil microemulsions, the so-called BZ-AOT microemulsion. Initially, we will focus on the influence of the compartment parameters on the dynamics displayed. In this way, we will analyze the rich variety of patterns exhibited by the BZ-AOT system depending on both, the AOT microemulsion properties and the excitability of the medium. In another stage of the project, and by bearing in mind that patterns in Nature are also affected by different flows, we propose to apply external forcing able to modify the AOT microemulsions and also the chemical dynamics. In this regard, we will use the addition of hydrophilic polymers, the temperature or the electric field as external parameters.