A study of the mechanism of hydrolysis of nitrophenyl esters catalyzed by polyethyleneimine containing benzyl groups

The mechanism of hydrolysis of n-nitrophenyl acetate (NPA), butyrate (NPB), caprylate (NPC), and o-methoxycinnamate (NPOMC) catalysed by benzyl-containing polyethyleneimines of linear and branched structures was investigated in aqueous media. The reaction seems to proceed via a general basic mechanism of catalysis and does not involve acylation of the catalyst. Benzyldiethylamine is an analogue of the active centres in polymers with pK_a = 8 · 35 ± 0 · 1, localized in the polymer globules at sites of higher hydrophobity.The reaction has a three-step mechanism involving binding of the substrate to an active centre (to give Michaelis sorption complex), substrate conversion and desorption of products. For each step, rate constants were determined. The effect of polymer (K₂/K_m)/K_II increases from NPA to NPC; in the latter case, it is of order 10⁵.