New features in the dynamics of a ferroin-catalyzed Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction induced by a zwitterionic surfactant

Interactions between reaction–diffusion systems and aggregated host environments are a subject of widespread interest. In this work, the behavior of the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction was investigated in a micellar environment formed by the zwitterionic surfactant N-tetradecyl-N,N-dimethylamine oxide (C₁₄DMAO). The appearance of an induction period with a threshold-like dependence upon the surfactant concentration, was detected at [C₁₄DMAO] = 5.0 × 10⁻³ mol dm⁻³. These new features were explained in terms of the segregation ability typical of the amphiphilic self-assembling systems. Numerical simulations were also performed to confirm the proposed mechanism.