An investigation of aromaticity in hydroxybenzenes based on the study of magnetically induced current density

Hydroxybenzenes are derivatives of benzene in which one or more H atoms are replaced by OH groups. This work considers the effect of such replacement on the aromaticity of the ring, by assessing the aromaticity through the values and patterns of the magnetically induced current density. The results show that aromaticity is quenched and the quenching depends on the number and positions of the substituting OH groups. The isosurfaces of the magnitude of the current density also highlight connections between the donor and acceptor atoms forming an intramolecular hydrogen bond.