Malchow Anne-Kathleen, Azhand Arash, Knoll Pamela, Engel Harald, Steinbock Oliver
Technische Universität Berlin, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Hardenbergstraße 36, D-10623 Berlin, Germany.
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306-4390, USA.
Chaos. 2019 May;29(5):053129. doi: 10.1063/1.5089659.
Biomorphs are polycrystalline aggregates that self-assemble during inorganic precipitation reactions. The shape repertoire of these microstructures include hemispherical objects with complicated internal features such as radial spikes and cones as well as folded sheets reminiscent of corals. We propose that at the microscale, some of these patterns are caused by nonlinear reaction-diffusion processes and present a simple model for this unconventional type of precipitation. The model consists of three reaction steps that convert a reactant species autocatalytically into an intermediate and eventually into a solid, immobile product. Numerical simulations of the model in three space dimensions reveal product structures that are similar to the experimentally observed biomorphs.
生物形态是在无机沉淀反应过程中自组装的多晶聚集体。这些微观结构的形状种类包括具有复杂内部特征（如径向尖刺和圆锥体）的半球形物体，以及类似珊瑚的折叠片。我们提出，在微观尺度上，其中一些图案是由非线性反应扩散过程引起的，并为此类非常规沉淀提出了一个简单模型。该模型由三个反应步骤组成，这些步骤将一种反应物物种自动催化转化为一种中间体，并最终转化为一种固态的、不可移动的产物。该模型在三维空间中的数值模拟揭示了与实验观察到的生物形态相似的产物结构。
