Dimethyl phosphate hydrolysis at neutral pH

A study is done on the reactivities of ((cyclen)Co(OH2)2)3+ (1) and ((tetren)Co(OH2))3+ (2) for hydrolyzing dimethyl phosphate and its possible connection to the mechanistic role of metal ions in ribozymes. The results indicate the possibility of hydrolysis in 1 but not in 2, despite heating the reaction solution to 100 degrees centigrade for one month. The observed hydrolysis for 1 is explained by a mechanism which involves Lewis acid activation and metal hydroxide activation.