Autonomous Chemical Modulation and Unidirectional Coupling in Two Oscillatory Chemical Systems

Controlling and coupling of out-of-equilibrium reaction networks have great importance in chemistry and biology. We provide an example for the ideal master-slave coupling between two pH oscillators (the sulfite-bromate and the hydrogen peroxide-sulfite pH oscillators operated in continuous-flow stirred tank reactors). The coupling between the reactors was realized by transport of carbon dioxide through a silicon membrane, which is a common chemical species in both systems. We showed that by using this strategy, the master system can generate forced pH oscillations in the slave system. We could control the amplitude and frequency of the oscillations in the slave system and reversibly drive the transition in the oscillations between the regular and chaotic regimes. Using this coupling strategy, we could present an example of amplitude modulation in a coupled chemical system.