Now let us examine the stabilities of alkoxide and phenoxide
ions In alkoxide ion, the negative charge is localised on oxygen
while in phenoxide ion, the charge is delocalised The delocalisation of negative charge (structures I-V) makes
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Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers
phenoxide ion more stable and favours the ionisation of phenol Although there is also charge delocalisation in phenol, its
resonance structures have charge separation due to which the
phenol molecule is less stable than phenoxide ion