Fluctuation-Induced Transitions in a Bistable Surface Reaction: Catalytic CO Oxidation on a Pt Field Emitter Tip

Yu. Suchorski; J. Beben; E. W. James; J. W. Evans; R. Imbihl

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.1907

Fluctuation-Induced Transitions in a Bistable Surface Reaction: Catalytic CO Oxidation on a Pt Field Emitter Tip

Yu. Suchorski, J. Beben, E. W. James, J. W. Evans, and R. Imbihl

Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 1907 – Published 1 March 1999

Abstract

Fluctuations which arise in catalytic CO oxidation on a Pt field emitter tip have been studied with field electron microscopy as the imaging method. Fluctuation-driven transitions between the active and the inactive branch of the reaction are found to occur sufficiently close to the bifurcation point, terminating the bistable range. The experimental results are modeled with Monte Carlo simulations of a lattice-gas reaction model incorporating rapid CO diffusion.

Received 10 September 1998

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.1907

Authors & Affiliations

Yu. Suchorski¹, J. Beben², E. W. James³, J. W. Evans³, and R. Imbihl¹

¹Institut für Physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie, Universität Hannover, Callinstrasse 3-3a, D-30167 Hannover, Germany
²Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Wroclaw, Plac Maxa Borna 9, PL-50-204 Wroclaw, Poland
³Ames Laboratory and Department of Mathematics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011