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We have investigated the kinetics of the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of ethyl, propyl, and butyl acetates in aqueous binary mixtures of ethanol and of 1,4-dioxane without sonication and under ultrasound at 22 kHz. Various rate enhancements were found in the region from pure water up to 50 wt % ethanol and 60 wt % dioxane. The calorimetric measurements performed in the same region indicated an insignificant effect of the solvent composition on the ultrasonic power. It was concluded that the sonochemical acceleration of ester hydrolysis in ethanol-water and 1,4-dioxane-water mixtures may be interrelated with the destruction of the molecular structure of the binary solvent and essentially with the perturbation of hydrophobic solute-solvent interactions. The ultrasonic acceleration of polar homogeneous reactions takes place in the bulk reaction medium. This implies the presence of acoustic-field sonochemistry besides the generally accepted hot-spot sonochemistry.

The kinetics of base-catalyzed hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl acetate was studied in water and water-ethanol mixtures under ultrasound (21.1 kHz) using a probe equipped with a quartz horn and, by comparison, without sonication. The ethanol concentration was varied from 0 to 50 wt % and pH from 7.5 to 9. The increase of reaction rate was inversely proportional to the strength of substrate interactions with the solvent structure. It was found that the effect of ultrasound could be related to the perturbation of solute-solvent interactions. This conclusion seems to apply to both acid-catalyzed and base-catalyzed hydrolysis reactions. Parallel experiments with a titanium horn revealed the catalytic action of undetermined chemical species formed from dispersed titanium metal.

The kinetics of KCN-catalyzed benzoin condensation of benzaldehyde in water and ethanol-water binary mixtures was investigated both under ultrasound at 22 kHz and without sonication. Thermodynamic activation parameters were calculated from kinetic data obtained at 35, 50, and 65 degrees C. Evidence that ultrasound can retard reactions is reported and hence a direct proof that sonochemical processes occur in the bulk solution. Former results and literature data for ester hydrolyses and tert-butyl chloride solvolysis are involved in the discussion. A quantitative relationship between sonication effects and the hydrophobicity of reagents is presented for the first time. Ultrasound affects hydrophobic interactions with the solvent, which are not manifested in conventional kinetics. When it suppresses the stabilization of the encounter complexes between reagents, sonication hinders the reaction but accelerates it when it perturbs the hydrophobic stabilization of the ground state of a reagent.

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