Phenols are often effective antioxidants (Problem 21.26 and "The Chemistry of . . . Antioxidants" in Section 10.11) because they are said to "trap" radicals. The trapping occurs when phenols react with highly reactive radicals to produce less reactive (more stable) phenolic radicals.
(a) Show how phenol itself might react with an alkoxyl radical (RO·) in a hydrogen abstraction reaction involving the phenolic --OH.
(b) Write resonance structures for the resulting radical that account for its being relatively unreactive.