Hydrolysis of Alanine Decyl Ester Promoted by Transition Metal Salts Solubilized in AOT Reversed Micelle

Aqueous solutions of several transition metal salts were solubilized in AOT reversed micelles in octane. They were shown to promote the hydrolysis of oil-soluble alanine decyl ester. When copper (II) acetate was used, the initial reaction rate was dependent not only on the initial substrate concentration but on the metal concentration as well. High concentrations of the metal salt and substrate resulted in large initial rates. However, the reactions were decelerated when conversion was twice the ratio of metal salt to initial substrate content. Similar behavior of the reaction rate was observed for other metal salts. The reaction mechanism is discussed in terms of the formation of several intermediate complexes and their relative stabilities.