why are phenols more acidic than aliphatic alcohols
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An acidic substance is something that can produce a hydrogen (H+) when in water.
However both alcohols and phenols are weak acids , the alcohols are less acidic then phenols because it is very tough to remove the H ion from alcohol.Phenol can lose ion easily because phenoxide ion formed is stabilised to some extent,This is as the negative charge on the oxygen atom is delocalised around the ring i.e having a cyclic structure in phenol helps it stay stable even after hydrogen is removed.Delocalized charge means negative charge is distributed almost equally through the compounds.The more stable ion is,the more likely it is to form .In this case phenol,the alcohol is almost similar to being non charged even after the hydrogen ion is removed and thus can have some acidic effect.
However both alcohols and phenols are weak acids , the alcohols are less acidic then phenols because it is very tough to remove the H ion from alcohol.Phenol can lose ion easily because phenoxide ion formed is stabilised to some extent,This is as the negative charge on the oxygen atom is delocalised around the ring i.e having a cyclic structure in phenol helps it stay stable even after hydrogen is removed.Delocalized charge means negative charge is distributed almost equally through the compounds.The more stable ion is,the more likely it is to form .In this case phenol,the alcohol is almost similar to being non charged even after the hydrogen ion is removed and thus can have some acidic effect.
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