Homodesmotic method of determining the O–H bond dissociation energies in phenols

Abstract

The dissociation energy of the O–H bond has been calculated by the homodesmotic reaction method for phenolic compounds, which are well-known antioxidants, including for natural phenols. Use of moderately complex computational levels, such as B3LYP/6-31G(d), is sufficient for reliably estimating the D(O–H) value for phenols within the homodesmotic approach. The O–H bond dissociation energy for monosubstituted phenols has been calculated, and the additive character of the effect of methyl groups on D(O–H) in methylphenols has been demonstrated: the introduction of a CH₃ group into the aromatic ring decreases the D value by 7.8 kJ/mol (ortho position), 1.8 kJ/mol (meta position), and 7.6 kJ/mol (para position). The O–H bond strength has been calculated for a number of ubiquinols, selenophens, flavonoids, and chromanols. The D(O–H) value recommended for α-tocopherol is 328.0 ± 1.3 kJ/mol.