Abstract. The bis phenoxide forms of (1, 2) bis (2-hydroxybenzamido) ethane (I),(1, 5) bis (2- hydroxybenzamido) 3-azapentane (II),(1, 3) bis (2-hydroxybenzamido) propane (III), and (1, 8) bis (2-hydroxybenzamido) 3, 6-diazaoctane (IV) undergo facile hydrolysis of one of the amide groups (0.02≤[OH−] T (mol dm− 3)≤ 0.5, 10% MeOH (v/v)+ H 2 O medium) without exhibiting [OH−] dependence. The reactivity trend follows I~ II>> III~ IV with low activation ...