Abstract
The Belousov – Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is the prototypical oscillating chemical reaction. The tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium-catalysed BZ reaction (often simply referred to as the ruthenium-catalysed BZ reaction) displays photosensitivity and has been widely exploited for examination of the effects of illumination on nonlinear reaction kinetics. In this review, we investigate the behaviour of the ruthenium-catalysed BZ reaction. The mechanism of the reaction is analysed and we examine how light sensitivity is incorporated into kinetic models of the reaction. The temporal dynamics of the photosensitive reaction is presented and, finally, we discuss the extraordinary wealth of behaviour that has been observed in the spatially-distributed system when perturbed by visible light.
