Abstract The reactivity of 1-benzoyl-3-phenyl-1, 2, 4-triazole (1a) was studied in the presence of a range of weak bases in aqueous solution. A change in mechanism is observed from general-base catalysed hydrolysis to nucleophilic substitution and general- base catalysed nucleophilic substitution. A slight tendency is also observed for the more hydrophobic general bases to show higher reactivity towards 1a. Aspartame is an effective ...