Abstract
The antioxidant properties of the synthesised 5-tert-butylbenzene-1,2,3-triol (system A) and the designed 3,5-di-tert-butylbenzene-1,2-diol (system B) have been explored through density functional theory at the M05-2X/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. The quantum mechanics-based test for overall free radical scavenging activity (QM- ORSA) protocol has been employed to account for their radical-scavenging capacity against the hydroperoxyl radical (HOO•) in the gas phase and in toluene solvent as a mimic lipid medium. The different mechanisms of the chemical reactions of the studied systems with HOO• have been considered, namely (i) the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), (ii) the single electron transfer followed by proton transfer and (iii) the radical adduct formation. Our calculations provide evidence that HAT is the most favoured reaction mechanism in both the gas phase and in lipid media and the calculated thermodynamic and kinetic parameters indicate that the designed compound is more efficient than the synthesised system A and the reference system (α-tocopherol).