Aromatic alcohols of pH 1 turned emulsive, essentially (7)

I believe the answer is:

phenols

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'aromatic alcohols' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both substances as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?

'ph 1 turned emulsive essentially' is the wordplay.
'1' becomes 'one' (synonyms).
'turned' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'essentially' says to take the centre.
The middle of 'emulsive' is 'ls'.
'one' reversed gives 'eno'.
'ph'+'eno'+'ls'='PHENOLS'

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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