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CBSE Class 12 · 2002 · Foreign · Alcohols Phenols and EthersVery Short Answer

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Explain why phenol is an acid but ethanol is neutral.

Solution

Phenol ionises because its conjugate base, phenoxide, delocalises the negative charge into the ring (five resonance structures).
Ethoxide has no such stabilisation; the +I ethyl group actually intensifies the charge on O.
Hence phenol is acidic (turns blue litmus red, dissolves in NaOH) while ethanol is neutral.

CBSE Class 12 Board · 2002 · Foreign · Subjective

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