Abstract: A skin-whitening agent,4-(1-phenethyl)-1,3-benzenediol was prepared by catalytic synthesis with styrene and resorcinol as starting materials.The catalyst,silicon supported phosphotungstic acid was prepared by pickling process and characterized by IR,XRD and SEM.The synthesized crude product was purified by re-crystallization in xylene as solvent;and structure of the product was identified by MS and ¹H NMR.Its skin-whitening activity and antioxidation activity were evaluated by using tyrosinase activity inhibition test,Fe³⁺ reducing capacity test as well as free radical inhibition test.Results showed that,the IC₅₀ of the tyrosinase inhibition of the product is 0.010 5 g/L,which is much smaller than that of β-arbutin (IC₅₀=0.64 g/L),and it means that the skin-whitening capacity of the product is conspicuously stronger than that of β-arbutin.Similarly,the EC₅₀ of the capacity for Fe³⁺ reduction is 0.033 g/L;the EC₅₀ of the capacity for hydroxyl free radical removal is 0.06 g/L;the EC₅₀ of the capacity for superoxide free radical removal is 0.32 g/L;results indicates that the capacity for Fe³⁺ reduction and superoxide free radical removal of the product are stronger than that of β-arbutin.

Key words: skin-whitening agent, synthesis, antioxidation