Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications - digital archive 

Abstract

Linear relations have been obtained between the logarithms of the biological degradation rate of phenol and aniline derivatives and the substituent constants σ accounting for their electronic effects. The reaction constant in the Hammett equation is negative; the biological degradation rate is negatively affected by electron-withdrawing substituents. Of the OH, CH₃, Cl, NO₂, and NH₂ substituents tested, only amino group led to deviations from the linear correlations for monosubstituted phenols. The rate of degradation of the aromatic system seems to be controlled by electronic effects, the limiting stage being the electrophilic substitution; correlations using the steric or lipophilic constants failed.