title: Synchronization of Coupled Oscillators on a Two-Dimensional Plane.
abstract: The effect of the transfer rate of signal molecules on coupled chemical oscillators arranged on a two-dimensional plane was systematically investigated in this paper. A microreactor equipped with a surface acoustic wave (SAW) mixer was applied to adjust the transfer rate of the signal molecules in the microreactor. The SAW mixer with adjustable input powers provided a simple means to generate different mixing rates in the microreactor. A robust synchronization of the oscillators was found at an input radio frequency power of 20 dBm, with which the chemical waves were initiated at a fixed site of the oscillator system. With increasing input power, the frequency of the chemical waves was increased, which agreed well with the prediction given by the time-delayed phase oscillator model. Results from the finite element simulation agreed well with the experimental results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Dameng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics & Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK.
authors.forename: Yong Qing
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong. bozheng@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2044-2848
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zheng
keywords: Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction; chemical wave activity; microfluidics; surface acoustic waves; transfer rate