Spatiotemporal concentration patterns in a surface reaction: Propagating and standing waves, rotating spirals, and turbulence

Laterally varying surface concentrations associated with the oscillatory oxidation of carbon monoxide on a Pt(110) surface were imaged by photoemission electron microscopy. Depending on the applied conditions, a large variety of spatiotemporal patterns were observed that are characteristic for the nonlinear dynamics of reaction-diffusion systems.