Question:
Give two reactions that show the acidic nature of phenol. Compare acidity of phenol with that of ethanol.
Solution:
The acidic nature of phenol can be represented by the following two reactions:
(i) Phenol reacts with sodium to give sodium phenoxide, liberating H2.
(ii) Phenol reacts with sodium hydroxide to give sodium phenoxide and water as by-products.
The acidity of phenol is more than that of ethanol. This is because after losing a proton, the phenoxide ion undergoes resonance and gets stabilized whereas ethoxide ion does not.
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