Phenols
chemical compounds in which hydroxyl group is attached directly to an aromatic ring
In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of one or more hydroxyl groups (−OH) bonded directly to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. The simplest is phenol, C6H5OH. Phenolic compounds are classified as simple phenols or polyphenols based on the number of phenol units in the molecule.
Phenols are both synthesized industrially and produced by plants and microorganisms.
Properties
Acidity
Phenols are more acidic than typical alcohols. The acidity of the hydroxyl group in phenols is commonly intermediate between that of aliphatic alcohols and carboxylic acids (their pKa is usually between 10 and 12). Deprotonation of a phenol forms a corresponding negative phenolate ion or phenoxide ion, and the corresponding salts are called phenolates or phenoxides (aryloxides, according to the IUPAC Gold Book).
Condensation with aldehydes and ketones
Phenols are susceptible to electrophilic aromatic substitutions. Condensation with formaldehyde gives resinous materials, famously Bakelite.
Another industrial-scale electrophilic aromatic substitution is the production of bisphenol A, which is produced by the condensation with acetone.
C-Alkylation with alkenes
Phenol is readily alkylated at the ortho positions using alkenes in the presence of a Lewis acid such as aluminium phenoxide:
CH2=CR2 + C6H5OH → R2CHCH2-2-C6H4OH
More than 100,000 tons of tert-butyl phenols are produced annually (year: 2000) in this way, using isobutylene (CH2=CMe2) as the alkylating agent.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Phenols” as chemical compounds in which hydroxyl group is attached directly to an aromatic ring. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as chemical compounds in which hydroxyl group is attached directly to an aromatic ring. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q407142. The Library of Congress control number is sh85100676. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000.
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This entry incorporates text from “Phenols” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.