Clock reaction
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A clock reaction, also called chemical clock is a complex mixture of reacting chemical compounds in which the onset of an observable property (discoloration or coloration) occurs after a predictable induction time due to the presence of clock species at a detectable amount. In cases where one of the reagents has a visible color, crossing a concentration threshold can lead to an abrupt color change after a reproducible time lapse.
One class of example is the iodine clock reactions, in which an iodine species is mixed with redox reagents in the presence of starch. After a delay, a dark blue color suddenly appears due to the formation of a triiodide-starch complex.
Additional reagents can be added to some chemical clocks to build a chemical oscillator. For example, the Briggs–Rauscher reaction is derived from an iodine clock reaction by adding perchloric acid, malonic acid and manganese(II) sulfate.
