The Existence of Oscillatory Solutions in the Field-Noyes Model for the Belousov-Zhabotinskii Reaction

The cerium ion catalyzed oxidation of malonic acid by bromate in a sulphuric acid solution is essentially the Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction. Belousov [1] observed temporal oscillations in the concentrations of the cerium ions Ce(III) and Ce(IV) when the reagent was stirred. The quantitative model for the chemical mechanism suggested by Field and Noyes [3] is examined here and it is shown that the solutions of the model equations are oscillatory, of finite amplitude and must possess at least one periodic solution.