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Which one of the following esters gets hydrolysed most easily under alkaline conditions?
A
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B
- 
C
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D
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Detailed Solution
Electron-withdrawing groups increase reactivity towards nucleophilic attack by $OH^-$ (and stabilise the leaving phenoxide).
$-NO_2$ is a strong electron-withdrawing group, so p-nitrophenyl acetate is hydrolysed most easily.
$-NO_2$ is a strong electron-withdrawing group, so p-nitrophenyl acetate is hydrolysed most easily.