Crystal structure and DFT computational studies of (E)-2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[3-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl]iminomethyl}phenol

The title compound, C₂₃H₂₈F₃NO, is an ortho-hydroxy Schiff base compound, which adopts the enol–imine tautomeric form in the solid state. The molecular structure is not planar and the dihedral angle between the planes of the aromatic rings is 85.52 (10)°. The trifluoromethyl group shows rotational disorder over two sites, with occupancies of 0.798 (6) and 0.202 (6). An intramolecular O—H...N hydrogen bonding generates an S(6) ring motif. The crystal structure is consolidated by C—H...π interactions. The molecular structure was optimized via density functional theory (DFT) methods with the B3LYP functional and LanL2DZ basis set. The theoretical structure is in good agreement with the experimental data. The frontier orbitals and molecular electrostatic potential map were also examined by DFT computations.