The resonance structures
are shown under acidity of phenols Common electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions taking place
in phenol are as follows:
(i) Nitration: With dilute nitric acid at low temperature (298 K),
phenol yields a mixture of ortho and para nitrophenols The ortho and para isomers can be separated by steam
distillation o-Nitrophenol is steam volatile due to intramolecular
hydrogen bonding while p-nitrophenol is less volatile due to
intermolecular hydrogen bonding which causes the association
of molecules