What type of reaction occurs when phenol is treated with sodium hydroxide?
Correct Answer: Nucleophilic substitution reaction
- Step 1: Understand that phenol is a compound that contains a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to a benzene ring.
- Step 2: Recognize that sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a strong base that can react with phenol.
- Step 3: When phenol is mixed with sodium hydroxide, the hydroxide ion (OH-) from NaOH acts as a nucleophile.
- Step 4: The nucleophile (OH-) attacks the hydrogen atom of the hydroxyl group in phenol.
- Step 5: This results in the removal of the hydrogen atom from phenol, forming a phenoxide ion (C6H5O-).
- Step 6: The overall reaction can be summarized as phenol + sodium hydroxide → phenoxide ion + water.
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