question_answer

                    How do you account for the fact that unlike phenol, 2, 4-dinitrophenol and 2, 4, 6-trinitrophenol are soluble in aqueous sodium carbonate solution?

Answer:

                Due to the strong electron-withdrawing nature of \[-N{{O}_{2}}\] groups, both 2, 4-dinitrophenol and 2, 4, 6-trinitrophenol are more acidic than carbonic acid and hence dissolve in aq. \[N{{a}_{2}}C{{O}_{3}}\] solution to form the corresponding sodium salts with the evolution of \[C{{O}_{2}}\].