Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Ruthenium-, Cerium-, and Ferroin-Catalyzed Belousov−Zhabotinsky Reactions

Digital circuits and neural networks based on acid-base chemistry implemented by robotic fluid handling

Acid-base reactions are ubiquitous, easy to prepare, and execute without sophisticated equipment. Acids and bases are also inherently complementary and naturally map to a universal representation of "0" and "1." Here, we propose how to leverage acids, bases, and their reactions to encode binary information and perform information processing based upon the majority and negation operations. These operations form a functionally complete set that we use to implement more complex computations such as digital circuits and neural networks. We present the building blocks needed to build complete digital circuits using acids and bases for dual-rail encoding data values as complementary pairs, including a set of primitive logic functions that are widely applicable to molecular computation. We demonstrate how to implement neural network classifiers and some classes of digital circuits with acid-base reactions orchestrated by a robotic fluid handling device. We validate the neural network experimentally on a number of images with different formats, resulting in a perfect match to the in-silico classifier. Additionally, the simulation of our acid-base classifier matches the results of the in-silico classifier with approximately 99% similarity.

A programmable chemical computer with memory and pattern recognition

Current computers are limited by the von Neumann bottleneck, which constrains the throughput between the processing unit and the memory. Chemical processes have the potential to scale beyond current computing architectures as the processing unit and memory reside in the same space, performing computations through chemical reactions, yet their lack of programmability limits them. Herein, we present a programmable chemical processor comprising of a 5 by 5 array of cells filled with a switchable oscillating chemical (Belousov-Zhabotinsky) reaction. Each cell can be individually addressed in the 'on' or 'off' state, yielding more than 2.9 × 10¹⁷ chemical states which arise from the ability to detect distinct amplitudes of oscillations via image processing. By programming the array of interconnected BZ reactions we demonstrate chemically encoded and addressable memory, and we create a chemical Autoencoder for pattern recognition able to perform the equivalent of one million operations per second.

MRI of chemical reactions and processes

As magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can spatially resolve a wealth of molecular information available from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), it is able to non-invasively visualise the composition, properties and reactions of a broad range of spatially-heterogeneous molecular systems. Hence, MRI is increasingly finding applications in the study of chemical reactions and processes in a diverse range of environments and technologies. This article will explain the basic principles of MRI and how it can be used to visualise chemical composition and molecular properties, providing an overview of the variety of information available. Examples are drawn from the disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental science, physics, electrochemistry and materials science. The review introduces a range of techniques used to produce image contrast, along with the chemical and molecular insight accessible through them. Methods for mapping the distribution of chemical species, using chemical shift imaging or spatially-resolved spectroscopy, are reviewed, as well as methods for visualising physical state, temperature, current density, flow velocities and molecular diffusion. Strategies for imaging materials with low signal intensity, such as those containing gases or low sensitivity nuclei, using compressed sensing, para-hydrogen or polarisation transfer, are discussed. Systems are presented which encapsulate the diversity of chemical and physical parameters observable by MRI, including one- and two-phase flow in porous media, chemical pattern formation, phase transformations and hydrodynamic (fingering) instabilities. Lastly, the emerging area of electrochemical MRI is discussed, with studies presented on the visualisation of electrochemical deposition and dissolution processes during corrosion and the operation of batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells.

Magnetic resonance imaging of chemistry

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has long been recognized as one of the most important tools in medical diagnosis and research. However, MRI is also well placed to image chemical reactions and processes, determine the concentration of chemical species, and look at how chemistry couples with environmental factors, such as flow and heterogeneous media. This tutorial review will explain how magnetic resonance imaging works, reviewing its application in chemistry and its ability to directly visualise chemical processes. It will give information on what resolution and contrast are possible, and what chemical and physical parameters can be measured. It will provide examples of the use of MRI to study chemical systems, its application in chemical engineering and the identification of contrast agents for non-clinical applications. A number of studies are presented including investigation of chemical conversion and selectivity in fixed-bed reactors, temperature probes for catalyst pellets, ion mobility during tablet dissolution, solvent dynamics and ion transport in Nafion polymers and the formation of chemical waves and patterns.

Magnetic resonance imaging of chemical waves in porous media

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a powerful tool for the investigation of chemical structures in optically opaque porous media, in which chemical concentration gradients can be visualized, and diffusion and flow properties are simultaneously determined. In this paper we give an overview of the MRI technique and review theory and experiments on the formation of chemical waves in a tubular packed bed reactor upon the addition of a nonlinear chemical reaction. MR images are presented of reaction-diffusion waves propagating in the three-dimensional (3D) network of channels in the reactor, and the 3D structure of stationary concentration patterns formed via the flow-distributed oscillation mechanism is demonstrated to reflect the local hydrodynamics in the packed bed. Possible future directions regarding the influence of heterogeneities on transport and reaction are discussed.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Convection in the 1,4-Cyclohexanedione−Bromate−Acid Reaction

The manifestation and development of convection during pattern formation in the 1,4-cyclohexanedione-acid-bromate reaction was investigated using pulsed gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance (PGSE NMR) experiments. An apparatus was devised that enabled convection to be probed inside an NMR spectrometer and prevented hydrodynamic motion arising from extraneous sources, such as poor mixing or temperature gradients imposed by the experimental setup. PGSE experiments were performed concurrently with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experiments to show that convection arose spontaneously from inhomogeneities associated with the chemical patterns. Quantitative data on diffusion coefficients and hydrodynamic velocities are reported.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Flow-Distributed Oscillations

The formation of stationary concentration patterns in a packed-bed reactor (PBR), using a manganese-catalyzed Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction in a mixed sulfuric-phosphoric acid medium, was studied using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The PBR was composed of a column filled with glass beads, which was fed by a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). As the reactor is optically opaque, investigation of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of these reaction-diffusion-advection waves is not possible using conventional image capture techniques. MRI has been used to probe this system and the formation, 3D structure, and development of these waves has been studied. At reactor startup, traveling waves were observed. After this initial period the waves stabilized and became stationary. Once fixed, they were found to be remarkably stable. There was significant heterogeneity of the reaction fronts, which were not flat, as would be expected from a plug-flow reactor. Instead, the reaction wave fronts were observed to be conical in shape due to the local hydrodynamics of the bed and specifically the higher velocities and therefore lower residence times close to the wall of the reactor.

The NMR microimaging studies of the interplay of mass transport and chemical reaction in porous media

PFG NMR is employed to perform a comparative study of the filtration of water and propane through model porous media. It is shown that the dispersion coefficients for water are dominated by the holdup effects even in a bed of nonporous glass beads. It is demonstrated that correlation experiments such as VEXSY are applicable to gas flow despite the large diffusivity values of gases. The PFG NMR technique is applied to study the gravity driven flow of liquid-containing fine solid particles through a porous bed. The NMR imaging technique is employed to visualize the propagation of autocatalytic waves for the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction which is carried out in a model porous medium. It is demonstrated that the wave propagation velocity decreases as the wave crosses the boundary between the bulk liquid and the flooded bead pack. The images detected during the catalytic hydrogenation of alpha-methylstyrene on a single catalyst pellet at elevated temperatures have revealed that the reaction and the accompanying phase transition alter the distribution of the liquid phase within the pellet.

Three dimensional imaging of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction using magnetic resonance

The combination of 3D magnetic resonance imaging data with polygon based computer graphic display software is ideally suited to the study of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction in extended volumes. In this paper we present the first true three dimensional visualization of experimental data from the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. The time evolution of a twisted scroll wave like isoconcentration surface and its organizing filament are demonstrated for the manganese-catalyzed B-Z mixture. These techniques extend the experimental study of the B-Z reaction as a class of pattern-forming systems to the third dimension. The limitations of the technique are discussed.