The effect of modification of the electrophilic center from CO to PO on reactivity and reaction mechanism has been investigated for aminolysis of Y-substituted phenyl diphenylphosphinates (1a-j) and benzoates (2a-i). The phosphinates 1a-j are less reactive than the benzoates 2a-i. The reactions of 2, 4-dinitrophenyl diphenylphosphinate (1a) with alicyclic secondary amines resulted in a linear Brønsted-type plot with a βnuc value of ...