A computational study on the enhanced stabilization of aminophenol derivatives by internal hydrogen bonding

The stabilization of aminophenol derivatives and their radicals due to internal hydrogen bonding has been analyzed by means of density functional theory and by topological electron density analysis. The calculations have been carried out at the B3LYP level of theory, using several basis sets, and by means of the CBS-4M composite approach. A strong O-H⋯NH2 hydrogen bond is found to stabilize the aminophenol with the lone-pair of the nitrogen atom co-planar with the aromatic ring, contrasting with the optimized structure found for aniline. The effect of electron donors and electron acceptors on the strength of the internal hydrogen bond is also analyzed. For one of the species studied, 2,6-diaminophenol, the computed O-H bond dissociation enthalpy is only 300 kJ/mol, the lowest value found so far for phenol and other compounds containing the O-H bond, almost 25 kJ/mol lower than those found experimentally for pyrogallol and for vitamin E. The explanation for such a small value comes from the enhanced stabilization of the corresponding radical species by internal hydrogen bonding, combined with a decrease of the steric effects caused by rotation of the amino groups.