ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION A. Overview Chemical systems in which molecular aggregates such as micelles are reported to catalyze their own formation have attracted considerable scientific interest. An example is the alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl esters, which displays autocatalytic kinetics. This reaction has been discussed in the literature from the viewpoint of selfreplication of molecules in organized compartments such as micelles. The reaction products from the hydrolysis of ethyl alkanoates are ethanol and the corresponding sodium alkanoates. Because the sodium alkanoates are capable of self-assembling into micellar structures, the observed autocatalysis has been attributed to micellar catalysis. However, in spite of their common autocatalytic behaviors, the hydrolysis products from different esters have significantly differing properties. Specifically, the product from the C-4 ester does not form micelles under the reaction conditions, whereas that from the C-8 ester does form micelles. Therefore, autocatalysis cannot be attributed solely to the formation of micelles. More importantly, anionic sodium alkanoate micelles cannot possibly catalyze (in the conventional sense in which catalysis is understood) the hydrolysis reaction involving anionic hydroxyl ions. Therefore, a general kinetic model that can describe the observed autocatalysis is needed in all cases.
