The Mechanism of Dephosphorylation of Bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl) Phosphate in Mixed Micelles of Cationic Surfactants and Lauryl Hydroxamic Acid

Mixed micelles of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) or dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTABr) and the α-nucleophile, lauryl hydroxamic acid (LHA) accelerate dephosphorylation of bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl)phosphate (BDNPP) over the pH range 4−10. With a 0.1 mole fraction of LHA in DTABr or CTABr, dephosphorylation of BDNPP is approximately 10⁴-fold faster than its spontaneous hydrolysis, and monoanionic LHA⁻ is the reactive species. The results are consistent with a mechanism involving concurrent nucleophilic attack by hydroxamate ion (i) on the aromatic carbon, giving an intermediate that decomposes to undecylamine and 2,4-dinitrophenol, and (ii) at phosphorus, giving an unstable intermediate that undergoes a Lossen rearrangement yielding a series of derivatives including N,N-dialkylurea, undecylamine, undecyl isocyanate, and carbamyl hydroxamate.