Spatiotemporal Addressing of Surface Activity
Janpeter Wolff,1
Athanasios G. Papathanasiou,1
Ioannis G. Kevrekidis,2*
Harm Hinrich Rotermund,12
Gerhard Ertl1
We have modified surface catalytic activity in real time
and space by focusing an addressable laser beam to differentially heat
a platinum (110) single-crystal surface. Ellipsomicroscopy imaging of
local conditions (such as reactant and product local coverages) enabled
us to close the loop between sensing and actuation (both
spatiotemporally resolved). Pulses and fronts, the basic building
blocks of patterns, could be formed, accelerated, modified, guided, and
destroyed at will. Real-time image processing and feedback allow the
design and implementation of new classes of nonlocal evolution rules.
1 Fritz-Haber-Institut der
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton
University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
yannis{at}princeton.edu