Activity of a New Metallomicelle Catalytic System on the Hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) Phosphate Ester

A new metallomicellar system containing cerium ion (III), a macrocylic polyamine ligand and the hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was constructed and used as catalyst in the hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate ester (BNPP). The catalytic rate of BNPP hydrolysis was measured kinetically with UV-vis spectrophotometric method. The results indicated that the metallomicellar system exhibited relatively high stability and excellent catalytic function in BNPP hydrolysis, and the reaction rate of the BNPP catalytic hydrolysis, compared with BNPP spontaneous hydrolysis, increased by a factor of ca. 1x10(8) due to the catalytic effect of the active species and the local concentration effect of the micelle in metallomicellar system. The experimental results also showed that the mono-hydroxy complex made of the macrocyclic polyamine ligand and cerium (III) is the real active species as catalyst in BNPP catalytic hydrolysis, and the micelles provide a useful catalytic environment for reaction. On the basis of the research results, the reaction mechanism of BNPP catalytic hydrolysis was proposed in this work.