The pKa of p-nitrophenol is 7.15. Would you expect this substance to dissolve in sodium bicarbonate solution? The pKa of 3,6-dinitrophenol is 5.15. Will it dissolve in bicarbonate solution?
The conjugate acid of sodium bicorbonate is carbonic acid and its pKa value is 6.36 .That means sodium bicarbonate can deprotonate the phenolic proton of 3,6-dinitrophenol and solubilize the ion but not p-nitrophenol .
The reason isif the given acid is relatively weak,its conjugate base is stronger and viceversa
compare pKa if a compound has higher pKa thus it would be more acidic than bicarbonate .Then bicarbonate can not dissolve the compound in an aqueous solution .7.15 is higher than 6.36 so p-nitrophenol is not soluble in bicarbonate and 3,6-dinitrophenol dissolves in bicarbonate solution as its pKa is 5.15 less than bicarbonate solution
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