Fronts, waves, and stationary patterns in electrochemical systems

Oscillatory behavior has been observed for almost all electrochemical reactions in a certain, although sometimes small, range of external parameters. Only in the past ten years has it been possible, however, to find a common explanation for the occurrence of these temporal self-organization phenomena of chemically completely different electrochemical reactions. The breakthrough was achieved because new methods and concepts, which had been developed in nonlinear dynamics to describe the spontaneous formation of order in various disciplines, could be applied. This development in turn was only possible because the underlying laws are universal at a certain abstract level. Oscillations are only one possible manifestation of nonlinear behavior. Examples of other features that are often closely associated with temporal instabilities are spatial structures and waves. Initiated by the theoretical progress and the development of new experimental techniques, spatial pattern formation in electrochemical systems has been targeted for investigations in the past few years. Based on these investigations, it can be predicted under which conditions temporal or spatial pattern formation can be expected. Furthermore, the possibility of predicting the occurrence of instabilities indicates that it might be feasible to exploit nonlinear effects to increase, for example, the yield of electrocatalytic reactions. Here we discuss physicochemical mechanisms that lead to pattern formation in electrochemical systems. At the same time, we stress the generic principles that are responsible for self-structuring processes in many chemical and biological systems.