Iron(III)-Chelex resin complex as a prototypical heterogeneous catalyst for phosphodiester hydrolysis

The Fe3+ complex (but not Cu2+ and Zn2+ complexes) of the cross-linked polystyrene Chelex resin is found to be an efficient and selective catalyst toward phosphodiester hydrolysis. The hydrolysis of bis-(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNPP) by Fe3+-helex complex exhibits a pre-equilibrium kinetics with a second-order catalytic proficiency (in terms of rate = k(2) [Fe-Chelex][BNPP]) reaching one million at ambient temperature and pH 9.0. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.