Phenol and benzoic acid is separated by :

Options

A. `NaHCO_3`
B. NaOH
C. Na
D. `NaNH_2`

Answer

To separate phenol and benzoic acid, we can utilize their differing reactivity with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). Here’s a step-by-step solution:

### Step 1: Understand the Reactivity
- **Phenol** is a weak acid and does not react with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3).
- **Benzoic acid**, on the other hand, is a stronger acid and reacts with sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide (CO2).

### Step 2: Perform the Reaction
- When benzoic acid is treated with NaHCO3, it reacts as follows:
\[ \text{C}_6\text{H}_5\text{COOH} + \text{NaHCO}_3 \rightarrow \text{C}_6\text{H}_5\text{COO}^- \text{Na}^+ + \text{CO}_2 + \text{H}_2\text{O} \]
- This reaction produces sodium benzoate, carbon dioxide, and water.

### Step 3: Separation Process
- After the reaction, you can separate the aqueous layer containing sodium benzoate from the organic layer containing phenol.
- The carbon dioxide gas will evolve, which can be observed as bubbling.

### Step 4: Confirmation of Separation
- To confirm the separation, you can add ferric chloride (FeCl3) to both layers:
- The layer with phenol will give a violet color due to the formation of a phenol-iron complex.
- The layer with sodium benzoate will not show any color change.

### Conclusion
- Thus, phenol and benzoic acid can be effectively separated using sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3).

### Final Answer
- Phenol and benzoic acid can be separated by **NaHCO3**.

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