Kolbe's Reaction

In Kolbe's (or Kolbe-Schmitt) reaction, phenol is first converted to sodium phenoxide (with NaOH), which -- being more electron-rich and so more reactive toward electrophiles than phenol itself -- reacts with carbon dioxide at 400 K and 4-7 bar pressure; acid hydrolysis of the resulting product then gives salicylic acid (2-hydroxybenzoic acid), by way of the intermediate sodium salicylate. This carboxylation reaction i …