Phenol is treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide followed by carbon dioxide gas, and the resulting mixture is acidified to give compound X. Compound X is then heated with acetic anhydride in the presence of a catalytic amount of concentrated H ₂ SO ₄ to yield compound Y. Identify the final product Y.

Step-by-step solution

In the first step, phenol reacts with sodium hydroxide and carbon dioxide followed by acidification. This is Kolbe's reaction, which yields salicylic acid (2-hydroxybenzoic acid) as compound X. In the second step, salicylic acid (X) undergoes acetylation when treated with acetic anhydride in the presence of concentrated H ₂ SO ₄ . The phenolic - OH group is acetylated to form acetylsalicylic acid, which is commonly known as aspirin (compound Y). If the first step had been the Reimer-Tiemann reaction, the intermedia