Hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate ester catalysed by a surfactant ligand cobalt(II) complex

Abstract

The surfactant ligand 2,2′,2″-(dodecylammonio)triacetate (L) was synthesised and characterised. The kinetics of hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) in the catalytic system containing the surfactant ligand and cobalt(II) were investigated. The analysis of specific absorption spectra of the hydrolytic reaction systems indicated that key intermediates made up of BNPP and the Co(II) complex are formed. Here, the proposed mechanism of BNPP catalytic hydrolysis is based on the analytical result of the specific absorption spectrum and the corresponding kinetic constants are calculated. The results show that the Co(II) complex as a hydrolase mimic exhibits good catalytic activity and similar catalytic character to the natural enzyme.