Synthesis and antioxidant, aggregation, and electronic properties of 6-tert-butyl-1,4-benzodioxine substituted phthalocyanines

As a starting material, 7-tert-butyldibenzo [b,e] [1,4] dioxine-2,3-dicarbonitrile was prepared by the reac- tion of 4-tert-butylcatechol with 4,5-dichlorophthalonitrile. Metallophthalocyanine complexes 4-7 were obtained by cyclotetramerization of 7-tert-butyldibenzo [b,e] [1,4] dioxine-2,3-dicarbonitrile. All compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and other spectroscopic methods (IR, UV/Vis, and $^{1}$H NMR). Phthalocyanine compounds remained nonaggregated in tetrahydrofuran at the studied concentration ranges. Metallophthalocyanines 4-7 were tested for their antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activity processes included evaluation of radical-scavenging activity, chelat- ing activity, and reducing power. These compounds were compared to standard antioxidant ascorbic acid. The electronic data of the new compounds were obtained by computational calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G (d,p) level of theory.