Mixed quadratic-cubic autocatalytic reaction–diffusion equations: Semi-analytical solutions

Semi-analytical solutions for autocatalytic reactions with mixed quadratic and cubic terms are considered. The kinetic model is combined with diffusion and considered in a one-dimensional reactor. The spatial structure of the reactant and autocatalyst concentrations are approximated by trial functions and averaging is used to obtain a lower-order ordinary differential equation model, as an approximation to the governing partial differential equations. This allows semi-analytical results to be obtained for the reaction–diffusion cell, using theoretical methods developed for ordinary differential equations. Singularity theory is used to investigate the static multiplicity of the system and obtain a parameter map, in which the different types of steady-state bifurcation diagrams occur. Hopf bifurcations are also found by a local stability analysis of the semi-analytical model. The transitions in the number and types of bifurcation diagrams and the changes to the parameter regions, in which Hopf bifurcations occur, as the relative importance of the cubic and quadratic terms vary, is explored in great detail. A key outcome of the study is that the static and dynamic stability of the mixed system exhibits more complexity than either the cubic or quadratic autocatalytic systems alone. In addition it is found that varying the diffusivity ratio, of the reactant and autocatalyst, causes dramatic changes to the dynamic stability. The semi-analytical results are show to be highly accurate, in comparison to numerical solutions of the governing partial differential equations.