What is Phenol?
{{one source|date=January 2025}} [[File:Phenol2.svg|thumb|right|100px|Structure of phenol]] '''Phenol''' is the [[organic compound]] with formula C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>OH. It is a white solid. It has an OH group ([[hydroxyl group]]) bonded to a [[benzene]] ring. It is an [[alcohol]]. Because the [[Aromaticity|aromatic]] group attracts [[electron]]s, it is quite [[Acid|acidic]]. Phenol is produced from [[petroleum]]. It is an important [[molecule]] because it can be used to make many other products. It is also used in [[detergent]]s and [[herbicide]]s. == Properties == === Acidity === [[File:Phenol-phenolate equilibrium.svg|thumb|right|450px|A diagram showing the stabilization of the lone pair on the oxygen in phenol. This explains the acidity.]] Phenol has a [[Acid dissociation constant|pKa]] of about 10. For normal alcohols this number is usually around 15. However, phenol is less acidic than compounds like [[carboxylic acid]]s. The reason for this high acidity is the [[resonance stabilization]] of the molecule when it becomes an [[anion]]. === Reactions === Phenol can do [[electrophilic aromatic substitution]] reactions very well. This is because the [[lone pair]] on the [[oxygen]] atom can give electrons through the benzene ring to an [[electrophile]]. Because the lone pair is so high in energy however, sometimes phenol reacts too many times. == History == Phenol was first discovered in 1834. It was found as a product of burning [[coal]]. One of its first uses was to kill germs in [[surgery]]. It is still used today in some [[analgesic]]s. During the [[Second World War]], phenol was also used by the [[Nazi]]s. They used it in [[concentration camps]] to quickly kill small groups of people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.holocaust-history.org/lifton/LiftonT254.shtml|title=''The Nazi Doctors'', Chapter 14, Killing with Syringes: Phenol Injections|author=Dr. Robert Jay Lifton|accessdate=24 February 2013|archive-date=22 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022104811/http://www.holocaust