Zinc complexes of a new N3O ligand and their biomimetic reactions

, which crystallize as carboxylate-bridged dimers. Their deprotonation produced, in situ, the hydroxide complex L1Zn–OH, which acted as a base toward p-nitrophenol and bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphoric acid resulting in L1Zn–ONit and L1Zn-OPO(ONit)2. Tris(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate was cleaved hydrolytically by L1Zn–OH, releasing one p-nitrophenyl group. A kinetic investigation of this cleavage reaction under pseudo-first-order conditions has yielded second-order rate constants k″ of 0.9 s−1 M−1 in 50% aqueous DMSO and 4.0 s−1 M−1 in 75% aqueous DMSO.