Effect of geometry on the time law of Liesegang patterning

Evolution of Liesegang patterns in 2D radially symmetric gel media was studied experimentally in the AgNO3/K2Cr2O7/gelatine system. Different initial conditions were applied by varying the radius of the hole from which the penetration of the invading electrolyte took place. Our results show that the characteristics of the final pattern weakly depend on this parameter. In order to see whether this dependence is in accordance with one of the most popular theories of Liesegang patterning a numerical model based on Ostwald’s supersaturation model has been solved in 2D and 3D. Results of these simulations are in a good agreement with the experimental observations. The time law was reformulated in order to incorporate the above mentioned geometrical effect.