Accelerated hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl picolinate catalyzed by metallomicelle made from a novel macrocyclic polyamine copper(II) complex

A copper(II) complex 1 of a novel macrocyclic polyamine ligand with hydroxylethyl pendant groups, 4,11-bis(hydroxylethyl)-5,7,7,12,14,14-hexamediyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (L) has been synthesized and characterized. Rate enhancement for hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl picolinate (PNPP) catalyzed by 1 was studied kinetically under Brij35 micellar condition. For comparision, the catalytic activity of corresponding copper(II) complex 2 of non-substituted macrocyclic polyamine ligand, 5,7,7,12,14,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane (L') toward the hydrolysis of PNPP was also investigated. The results indicate that the macrocyclic polyamine copper(II) complex 1 effectively catalyzed the hydrolysis of PNPP, and the pendant ligand hydroxyl group or deprotonated pendant ligand hydroxyl group can act as catalytically active species in the reaction. A ternary complex kinetic model involving metal ion, ligand and substrate has been proposed, and the results confirmed the reasonability of such kinetic model.