What is Lithium Chloride?
Lithium chloride is a chemical compound with a chemical formula “LiCl”. The salt is a normal ionic compound, although the Li+ ion is small in size, it produces unrecognized effects for other alkali metal chlorides, such as exceptional solubility in polar solvents and its hygroscopic properties.
IUPAC Name: Lithium chloride
Synonyms:
Lithium chloride (LiCl)
Lithium chloride
LiCl
Molecular Formula: LiCl or ClLi
Molecular Weight: 42.4 g/mol
Properties:
1. Physical Properties of Lithium Chloride Licl:
It is Deliquescent in nature, appear as cubic crystals, granules or crystalline powder
It has sharp saline taste
It has Boiling point of 2417 to 2480 °F at 760 mm Hg
Its Melting point is 1121 °F
It has Density of 2.068 at 77 °F
Aqueous solution of lithium chloride is neutral or slightly alkaline
Solubility: Very soluble in water alcohols, ether, pyridine, nitrobenzene
2. Chemical Properties of Lithium Chloride Licl
Lithium Chloride Reaction with Sulfuric Acid:
When Lithium chloride reacts with sulfuric acid, it forms lithium sulfate and hydrogen chloride.
The chemical equation is given below.
\[ 2LiCl + H_{2}SO_{4} \rightarrow 2HCl + Li_{2}SO_{4}\]
Lithium Chloride Reacts with Base:
When lithium chloride reacts with sodium hydroxide, it forms lithium hydroxide and sodium chloride.
\[ LiCl + NaOH \rightarrow LiOH + NaCl\]
Licl structure: lithium chloride structure
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Licl Lewis Structure:
lewis dot structure for Licl is shown below:
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Step-by-Step Explanation of How to Draw the Lithium Chloride Lewis Structure
Lithium chloride structure licl is drawn with the help of lewis dots
Lithium chloride is ionic compound, in which Lithium is a metal compound and chloride is a non-metal. Where electrons are transferred from metal ion to non-metal ion.
One electron is transferred from lithium and makes it electro-positive and by gaining one electron from lithium, chlorine becomes electronegative.
Preparation:
Lithium chloride is prepared by treating lithium carbonate with hydrochloric acid. It is the highly exothermic reaction of lithium metal with either chlorine or anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas.
When hydrate is heated along with a stream of hydrogen chloride, then anhydrous LiCl is produced
Uses of Lithium Chloride Licl:
Lithium Metal by Electrolysis
Lithium chloride is primarily used at 450 ° C (842 ° F) for the preparation of lithium metal by electrolysis of a LiCl / KCl.
As Brazing Flux
Lithium chloride is also used as a brazing flux for aluminum in automobile parts.
Other Lithium Chloride Uses:
As desiccant in drying air streams.
lithium chloride is used in organic synthesis. For example, as an additive in the Stille reaction.
Biochemical Applications:
LiCl is used to precipitate RNA from cellular extracts
As a flame colorant, Lithium chloride is used to produce dark red flames.
Lithium chloride: it is used as a Relative humidity standard in the calibration of hygrometers and itself can be used as a hygrometer.
Molten LiCl is used for the preparation of lithium niobite, graphene and carbon nanotubes.
LiCl has strong acaricidal properties (Varroa destructor in populations of honey bees)
FAQs on Lithium Chloride
1. What is the chemical formula and molar mass of Lithium Chloride?
The chemical formula for Lithium Chloride is LiCl. To calculate its molar mass, we sum the atomic masses of its constituent elements: Lithium (approx. 6.94 g/mol) and Chlorine (approx. 35.45 g/mol). Therefore, the molar mass of LiCl is approximately 42.39 g/mol.
2. What are the most common industrial and laboratory uses of Lithium Chloride?
Lithium Chloride has several important applications:
Production of Lithium Metal: It is the primary precursor for producing lithium metal through electrolysis of a molten LiCl/KCl mixture.
Brazing Flux: It is used as a flux for brazing aluminium, particularly in the manufacturing of automobile parts.
Dehumidification: Due to its hygroscopic nature (ability to absorb moisture), it acts as a desiccant in industrial drying systems and air-conditioning units.
Biochemical Applications: In laboratories, it is used to precipitate RNA from cellular extracts.
Flame Colorant: It imparts a characteristic dark red or carmine-red colour to a flame, which is a common test for the lithium ion.
3. Is an aqueous solution of Lithium Chloride (LiCl) acidic, basic, or neutral?
An aqueous solution of Lithium Chloride is neutral. LiCl is a salt formed from the neutralisation reaction between a strong acid (Hydrochloric acid, HCl) and a strong base (Lithium hydroxide, LiOH). When dissolved in water, neither the Li⁺ ion nor the Cl⁻ ion undergoes significant hydrolysis to alter the concentration of H⁺ or OH⁻ ions, resulting in a solution with a pH of approximately 7.
4. Why does Lithium Chloride exhibit significant covalent character unlike other alkali metal chlorides?
Lithium Chloride exhibits significant covalent character due to the principles described by Fajan's Rules. The Lithium cation (Li⁺) is very small and has a high charge density. This allows it to strongly attract and polarise the large electron cloud of the Chloride anion (Cl⁻), distorting its shape. This distortion leads to a sharing of electron density between the two ions, which is the definition of a covalent bond. In contrast, larger alkali metal cations like Na⁺ or K⁺ have lower charge densities and cannot polarise the chloride ion as effectively, so their chlorides (NaCl, KCl) are predominantly ionic.
5. How is the Lewis structure for Lithium Chloride represented?
The Lewis structure for Lithium Chloride reflects its ionic nature. Lithium (Group 1) has one valence electron, which it loses to become a stable cation (Li⁺). Chlorine (Group 17) has seven valence electrons and gains one electron to complete its octet, becoming a stable anion (Cl⁻). The structure is represented as the lithium cation next to the chloride anion, with the chloride ion showing a full octet of eight valence electrons.
It is shown as: [Li]⁺ [ Cl ]⁻ (with 8 dots or 4 pairs of dots surrounding Cl).
6. Why is Lithium Chloride surprisingly soluble in organic solvents like ethanol and acetone?
While most ionic compounds are insoluble in organic solvents, Lithium Chloride is an exception due to two main factors:
High Lattice Energy vs. High Solvation Energy: The small size of the Li⁺ ion leads to a high lattice energy, but it also results in a very high solvation energy. The energy released when polar organic solvent molecules surround the small Li⁺ ion is substantial enough to overcome the lattice energy.
Covalent Character: As explained by Fajan's rules, LiCl has a significant degree of covalent character. This partial covalent nature makes it more compatible with less polar organic solvents, following the principle of "like dissolves like."
7. How is Lithium Chloride typically prepared?
Lithium Chloride is most commonly prepared by the reaction of a lithium-containing base with hydrochloric acid. A typical laboratory and industrial method involves the neutralisation reaction between lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) or lithium hydroxide (LiOH) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The reaction with lithium hydroxide is:
LiOH + HCl → LiCl + H₂O
After the reaction, the water is evaporated to obtain the crystalline LiCl salt.
8. What is the crystal lattice structure of solid Lithium Chloride?
Solid Lithium Chloride crystallises in a face-centred cubic (FCC) lattice structure, similar to that of Sodium Chloride (NaCl). In this arrangement, each Li⁺ ion is surrounded by six Cl⁻ ions, and each Cl⁻ ion is surrounded by six Li⁺ ions. This forms a regular, repeating three-dimensional array, giving it a coordination number of 6:6.
