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The carbon - oxygen bond in phenol is slightly stronger than that in methanol. Why? |
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Answer» Solution :This can be explained as under : (i) PHENOL, the conjugation of UNSHARED electron pair over oxygen with aromatic ring results in partial double bond CHARACTER in `C-O` bond.  In methanol, no such conjugation (resonance) is possible. (ii) In phenol, oxygen is attached to `sp^(2)` hybridised carbon while in methanol, oxygen is attached to `sp^(3)` hybrised carbon. An `sp^(2)` hybridised carbon is more electronegative (because of greater s - character) than `sp^(3)` hybridised carbon atom. Therefore, the bond between oxygen and `sp^(2)` hybridised carbon is more stable than the bond between oxygen and `sp^(3)` hybridised orbital. |
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