Answer:
Difference in acidity between carboxylic acid and phenol makes their separation possible by aqueous sodium bicarbonate.
Explanation:
[tex]pK_{a}[/tex] of carboxylic acid lies in the range of 1.92 - 4.76
[tex]pK_{a}[/tex] of phenol is 9.95
In sodium bicarbonate, [tex]HCO_{3}^{-}[/tex] acts as a strong base because it is derived from weak conjugate acid [tex]H_{2}CO_{3}[/tex]
Now, clearly, carboxylic acid will be preferably gives acid-base reaction with sodium bicarbonate to produce aqueous sodium carboxylate salt and phenol will remain as it is in a separate organic layer.
Unreacted phenol is then extracted with a suitable organic solvent by dissolving phenol in it.
Thus carboxylic acid and phenol can be separated by using aqueous sodium bicarbonate and a suitable organic solvent.