Micellar cetyltrimethylammonium iodosobenzoate, (CTA)IBA, is highly reactiv
e toward paraoxon (1) and parathion (2). In aqueous solution at PH 9, exces
s (CTA)IBA mediates their hydrolyses with k(obs)(max) = 0.014 and 0.0030 s(
-1), respectively, corresponding to half-lives of 50 s and 3.8 min. Compari
sons with other phosphorolytic reagents suggest that (CTA)IBA merits seriou
s consideration for the remediation of paraoxon or parathion contamination.