Question

Which is stronger acid phenol or cresol?

Answer 1

Hint: To answer this question, we first need to understand what acid is. An acid is a molecule or ion that can donate a proton or create a covalent bond with an electron pair, depending on whether it is a Bronsted–Lowry acid or a Lewis acid. The proton donors, also known as Brnsted–Lowry acids, are the first group of acids.

Complete answer:
Phenol - Any of a group of organic compounds with a hydroxyl (OH) group connected to a carbon atom in an aromatic ring is known as phenol. The term phenol is also the particular name for its simplest member, monohydroxybenzene, also known as benzenol or carbolic acid, in addition to being the generic name for the complete family.
Alcohols and phenols are similar in structure, but phenols create stronger hydrogen bonds. As a result, they are more water soluble than alcohols and have higher boiling points. At room temperature, phenols exist as colorless liquids or white solids, and they can be exceedingly poisonous and corrosive.
Cresol - Cresol refers to any of three methyl phenols with the same chemical formula but distinct structures: ortho- (o-) cresol, meta- (m-) cresol, and para- (p-) cresol.
Cresols are made from coal tar or petroleum, and are usually a combination of the three stereoisomers (molecules with the same number and type of atoms but with unique atom arrangements). Tricresol, or cresylic acid, is another name for this mixture. All three isomers are extremely poisonous, and they can be absorbed in lethal proportions through the skin at high doses. Cresols are powerful germicides that can work as disinfectants and antiseptics at low doses. They're also utilized in sheep-dips at low doses.
So, we conclude that Cresol is a weaker acid than phenol. Because $C{H_3}$ is an electron-donating group in cresol, it enhances the electron density of oxygen. This indicates that the electron density in the OH bond has increased, making cresol a weaker acid than phenol.
So, the final answer is phenol.

Note:
A chemical compound is a substance made up of numerous identical molecules bound together by chemical bonds and made up of atoms from different elements. As a result, a molecule made up of only one element's atoms is not a compound.