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Question

why carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenol

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Solution

Carboxylic acids are acidic due to resonance stabilization of carboxylate anion and in phenols, acidic character is present due to resonance stabilization of phenoxide anion. Carboxylic acid are more acidic than phenols because the negative charge in carboxylate anion is more spread out as compared to the phenoxide ion as there are two electronegative O-atoms in carboxylate anion in comparison to one in phenoxide ion. In the resosnce structures of carboxylate anion, the negative charge is present on the O-atoms while in resonance of phenoxide ion negative charge is also present on electropositive carbon atom, which leads to less stability of phenoxide ion than carboxylate anion.


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