The effect of IR compensation on stationary and oscillatory patterns in dual-electrode metal dissolution systems

We report an experimental and model based study on the effect of negative coupling, induced by adding IR compensation, on bistability, and synchronization behavior of a dual-electrode metal dissolution electrochemical system. We show that, unlike the case of a single electrode, IR compensation cannot be used to remove bistability; with a large IR compensation the electrodes do not exhibit uniform steady states and patterned surface develops. In the case of oscillatory system, addition of IR compensation produces aperiodic time series that are characterized by switching between oscillations with 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1 entrainment ratios. For higher negative coupling strengths (i.e., larger magnitude of IR compensation) amplitude death occurs and either coexistence of oscillations with steady state or multiple anti-symmetric steady states are observed.