Question

Which is more acidic phenol or benzoic acid?

Answer 1

Hey.

Here is the answer.

In fact, all carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenols. The pKa of all carboxylic acids is of the order 3–7 whereas the pKa of all phenols is of the order 7-10.

Lesser the pKa greater is the acidity.

When phenol dissociates, the negative charge is spread throughout the benzene ring by resonance. This stabilises the phenoxide ion somewhat. Thus a carboxylate group is more stable than a phenoxide, making benzoic acid comparativelymore acidic.

Thanks.