Question

Which one of the following compounds has the most acidic nature?

• A.
• B.
• C.
• D.

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Presence of electron withdrawing substituent increases the acidity while electron releasing substituent, when present, decreases the acidity.
Phenyl is an electron withdrawing substituent while $-C{H}_3$ is an electron releasing substituent.
Moreover, phenoxide ion is more resonance stabilised as compared to benzyloxide ion, thus releases proton more easily. That's why phenol is a strong acid among the given compounds