Acidic Nature of Phenol - Hydrocarbon
The acidic nature of phenol is observed in the following:
(1) Phenol changes blue litmus to red.
(2) Highly electropositive metals react with phenol. 2C6H5OH + 2Na → 2C6H5ONa + H2
(3) Phenol reacts with strong alkalies to form phenoxides. C6H5OH + NaOH → C6H5ONa + H2O.
However, phenol does not decompose sodium carbonate or sodium bicarbonate that is CO2 is not evolved because phenol is weaker than carbonic acid.