Question

What is the difference between phenol available as crystals and bottled liquid phenol?

Answer 1

Crystalline phenol is probably more pure.

Explanation:

Phenol, `C_6H_5OH`, has a melting point of 40.5 `""^@C`. This is fairly low, and in fact commercial suppliers may have added stabilizers to prevent oxidation - hence sometimes you can pour the phenol out of a bottle; that is the stabilizer may be actually preventing the material from crystallizing. In general, crystallinity is an indication of purity; crystals are certainly easier to handle than liquids (which you have to distil to purify).