Question

Which of the following is not a correct reason for the C-O bond length in phenol to be less than that in methanol?

(a) Partial double bond character of C-O bond

(b) Conjugation of lone pair of electrons with the aromatic ring

(c) sp^2 hybridised sate of carbon of C-O bond

(d) Repulsion between the electron lone pairs of oxygen

I had been asked this question by my school teacher while I was bunking the class.

Query is from Structures of Functional Groups topic in portion Alcohols, Phenols and Ethers of Chemistry – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct choice is (d) Repulsion between the electron lone pairs of oxygen

The best explanation: The two lone pairs of electrons of oxygen are present in OH groups of both phenol and methanol and has an effect on the C-O-H bond angle and not the C-O bond length.