Intrinsically Unstable Behavior during the Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide on Platinum

Abstract

Although the oxidation of carbon monoxide on platinum is one of the oldest known catalytic reactions and one of the most thoroughly studied, it continues to pose difficulties and challenges to both the experimentalist and the theoretician. For the most part, these are due to the frequent observations of hysteresis, associated with steady-state multiplicity, and self-sustained oscillations in the reaction and to the fact that no generally accepted theoretical explanation for them is at hand. even though a large number of studies have addressed the subject.