Microchannel-induced change of chemical wave propagation dynamics: importance of ratio between the inlet and the channel sizes

Abstract

The ability to control chemical wave propagation dynamics could stimulate the science and technology of artificial and biological spatiotemporal oscillating phenomena. In contrast to the conventional chemical approaches to control the wave front dynamics, here we report a physical approach to tune the propagation dynamics under the same chemical conditions. By using well-designed microchannels with different channel widths and depths, the propagation velocity was successfully controlled based on two independent effects: (i) a transition in the proton diffusion mode and (ii) the formation of a slanted wave front. Numerical analysis yielded a simple relationship between the propagation velocity and the microchannel configuration, which offers a simple and general way of controlling chemical wave propagation.