SWITCHING REACTION-MECHANISM BY MONOLAYER COMPRESSION - AN ESTER HYDROLYSIS

At high surface pressures the alkyl groups of 1 have no chance to come into the proximity of the aqueous sulfuric acid phase; a bimolecular hydrolysis of 2 is the result. Only a small reduction in the surface pressure enables the transition to a unimolecular mechanism with participation of an alkyl cation. This demonstrates possibilities of monolayer studies in physical organic chemistry. (Figure Presented.) Copyright © 1990 by VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Germany