Question

Give a reason for the following :
(i) Chloroacetic acid is more acidic than acetic acid.
(ii) Cacboxylic acids have higher boiling points than alcohols.
4-nitrobenzoic acid is more acidic than 4- methoxybenzoic acid.

Answer 1

(ii) In carboxylic acids, the extent of intermolecular hydrogen bonding is more than in alcohols. That is why , boiling points are higher. For example, b-p. of `CH_(3)COOH` is 391K. While that of `CH_(3)CH_(2)OH` is 371 K.