Metallomicelle catalysis: Hydrolysis of p‐nitrophenyl picolinate induced by Schiff base Co(II) complexes in a Gemini surfactant micellar solution

Two Schiff base cobalt(II) complexes containing crowned substituents have been synthesized and employed to promote the hydrolysis of p ‐nitrophenyl picolinate (PNPP) in a buffered micellar solution formed by a cationic Gemini surfactant, bis(hexadecyldimethylammonium)hexane bromide (G(hex)C16, 2Br − ) over a pH range of 6.50–8.50. In comparison, the reactivity of PNPP hydrolysis catalyzed by the same catalysts in the other micellar system, formed by a conventional single‐chain analogue, that is, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), has also been evaluated under a selected condition. The results clearly reveal that the two metallomicelles made of the aforementioned Co(II) complexes and the G(hex)C16 are both efficient for catalyzing PNPP hydrolysis with about 3 orders of magnitude in rate acceleration compared with the background rate of PNPP spontaneous hydrolysis. Moreover, the rates of PNPP hydrolysis catalyzed by the two cobalt(II) complexes in G(hex)C16 micelles are about 2 times higher than in CTAB micelles, correspondingly. In addition, observations show that steric hindrance of substituents of the two complexes is also one of the major influencing factors in the PNPP hydrolytic reaction.