Metal-based nanomats as catalysts for self-oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky reactions

Chemical reactions exhibiting self-sustained oscillations have been used to replicate “life-like” characteristics in various synthetic systems. Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reactions are such reactions that exhibit a periodic color change of the solution, facilitated by oxidation and reduction of the metal-ion catalyst. Recently, we have shown that by using 0D-2D heterostructures as catalytic mats, specifically graphene-based nanosheets decorated with Ce or Ru nanoparticles, the frequency of oscillations for the BZ reactions are significantly enhanced. Here, however, we establish that bare metal nanosheets can also be used to catalyze BZ reactions. In particular, we show that when bare Ceria and Ru nanosheets are used as catalysts for BZ reactions, the oscillations change depending upon the presence of oxy-functional groups. Also, we designed hybrid 0D-2D metal catalysts, decorating Ce and Ru NPs on respective Ru and Ce nanosheets. Our experiments reveal that the frequency of oscillations is dependent on the conductivity of the bare metal nanosheets and the NP loading. Although our work focusses on BZ reactions, our findings open up new avenues to tune characteristics of dynamical systems through the use of catalytic nanomaterials.