Abdolhossein Naseri - Department of Analytical Chemistrty, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Hossein Khalilzadeh - Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Saheleh Sheykhizadeh - Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Oscillating reactions are one of the most interesting topics in chemistry and analytical chemistry. Fluctuations in concentrations of one the reacting species (usually a reaction intermediate) create an oscillating chemical reaction. In oscillating systems, the reaction is far from thermodynamic equilibrium. In these systems, at least one autocatalytic step is required. Developing an instinctive feeling for how oscillating reactions work will be invaluable to future generations of chemists. Some software programs have been released for simulating oscillating systems; however, the algorithm details of such software are not transparent to chemists. In contrast, function of spreadsheet tools, like Microsoft Excel, is well understood, and the software is nearly universally available. In this work, the simulation and visualization of different oscillating systems are performed using Microsoft excel. The simple repetitive solving of the ordinary differential equation of an autocatalytic reaction (a spreadsheet row) followed by time, easily automated by a subroutine (a “Macro” in Excel), readily simulates an oscillating reaction. This permits the simulation of some oscillating systems such asBelousov-Zhabotinsky. The versatility of an easily understandable computational platform further enables the simulation of the effects of linear and nonlinear parameters such as concentrations of reactants and catalyst, and kinetic constants. These parameters are readily changed to examine their effects.

Oscillating reactions, Simulation, Microsoft Excel, Macro, Belousov-Zhabotinsky system