Question: is naphthalene acidic or basic?
Answer: The pKa's of benzoic acid and 2-naphthol are 4.17 and 9.5, respectively, while naphthalene is a neutral compound. Since benzoic acid is much more acidic than 2-naphthol, the weak base, sodium bicarbonate, will be able to effectively remove benzoic acid's acidic hydrogen.