What is the main product when phenol reacts with sodium hydroxide?

What is the main product when phenol reacts with sodium hydroxide?

Step 1: Understand that phenol is a type of organic compound that has a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to a benzene ring.
Step 2: Know that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a strong base that can react with acids.
Step 3: Recognize that phenol can act as a weak acid because it can donate a hydrogen ion (H+) from its hydroxyl group.
Step 4: When phenol reacts with sodium hydroxide, the hydroxide ion (OH-) from sodium hydroxide reacts with the hydrogen ion (H+) from phenol.
Step 5: This reaction results in the formation of sodium phenoxide, which is the salt formed from phenol and sodium hydroxide.
Step 6: The chemical equation for this reaction can be written as: C6H5OH + NaOH → C6H5O-Na+ + H2O.

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