Modeling of the kinetic oscillations in the CO oxidation on Pt(100)

We analyze a model recently introduced by Imbihl et al. to describe the kinetic oscillations in the catalytic oxidation of CO on Pt(100). However we describe the surface reconstruction by a time dependent Ginzburg–Landau equation. With realistic values of the rate constants the region of oscillations in the PCO×PO2 diagram extends to very low values of the partial pressures (PCO=1.5×10−6 Torr, PO2=2.7×10−5 Torr) in agreement with the experimental results. In the investigation of the critical points and of the dynamics it has been possible to identify both saddle-node infinite period (SNIPER) and Hopf bifurcations.