Micellar effects of surfactants in cleavage of 4-nitro-phenyl diethyl phosphonate by hydroperoxide anion

We have studied the nucleophilicity of the hydroperoxide anion relative to 4-nitrophenyl diethyl phosphonate (NPDEPS) in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (water, 25 °C) while varying the acidity of the medium and the hydroperoxide anion concentration over a broad range. The increase in the reaction rate when the reaction is transferred to a micellar pseudophase is as high as ∼10-fold, which is explained by concentration effects. In CTAB micelles, as in water, the hydroperoxide ion is one of the most effective α-nucleophiles, and the size of the α -effect, characterized by the ratio of the second-order rate constants for reactions of HOO − and OH − anions with NPDEPS, remains practically constant and reaches a value of ∼50-fold.