Micellar Catalysis in Nonaqueous Solvents

As noted previously, interactions between polar head groups in nonaqueous solvents provide the primary driving force for the formation of micellar aggregates in such media. Such reversed micellar cores inherently provide a unique location for the solubilization of polar substrates. While keeping in mind the potentially dramatic effects of additives on the properties of micellar solutions, it is obvious that such nonaqueous systems hold great potential from a catalytic standpoint. 

One of the first reported instances of catalysis by reversed micelles in the early 1970s concerned the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyldodecanoate in hexanol-water systems containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Since that time, nonaqueous systems have gained greater attention as models that mimic the catalytic activity of natural enzymatic reactions. The fundamental principles controlling activity in nonaqueous systems are basically the same as those for aqueous solu- 

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