Lithium chloride
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{{Chembox new
| Name = '''Lithium chloride'''
| ImageFile1 = Lithium chloride.jpg
| ImageSize1 = 150px
| ImageName1 = Lithium chloride
| ImageFile2 = Lithium-chloride-3D-ionic.png
| ImageSize2 = 150px
| ImageName2 = Lithium chloride
| IUPACName = Lithium Chloride
| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
| CASOther = [7447-41-8]<br />[404596-80-1]
| PubChem = 4933294
| RTECS = OJ5950000}}
| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
| Formula = [[Lithium|Li]][[Chlorine|Cl]] (anhydrous)<br />LiCl•3[[Water|H<sub>2</sub>O]] (trihydrate)
| MolarMass = 42.394(4) gmol<sup>-1</sup> (anhydrous)<br />96.440(5)gmol<sup>-1</sup> (trihydrate)
| Appearance = white solid
| Density = 2.07 gcm<sup>-3</sup> (anhydrous)
| Solvent = water
| SolubleOther = 820 g.L<sup>-1</sup> (20 °C)
| MeltingPt = 605 °C (878 K)
| BoilingPt = >1300 °C (>1570 K)}}
| Section3 = {{Chembox Structure
| MolShape = Linear
| Coordination = Octahedral
| Dipole = 7.13 D (gas)}}
| Section3 = {{Chembox Hazards
| NFPA-H = 1
| NFPA-R = 0
| NFPA-F = 0
| RPhrases = {{R22}}, {{R36}}, {{R37}}, {{R38}}
| SPhrases = {{S26}}, {{S36}}, {{S37}}, {{S39}} }}
| Section4 = {{Chembox Related
| OtherAnions = [[Lithium fluoride]]<br />[[Lithium bromide]]<br />[[Lithium iodide]]
| OtherCations = [[Sodium chloride]]<br />[[Potassium chloride]]<br />[[Rubidium chloride]]<br />[[Caesium chloride]]}} }}
'''Lithium chloride''' is a [[chemical compound]] with the [[chemical formula|formula]] [[Lithium|Li]][[Chlorine|Cl]]. The [[salt (chemistry)|salt]] is a typical [[ionic compound]], although the small size of the Li<sup>+</sup> ion gives rise to properties not seen for other alkali metal chlorides, such as extraordinary solubility in polar [[solvent]]s (83g/100 mL of water at 20 °C) and its [[hygroscopic]] properties.<ref name=Ullmann>Ulrich Wietelmann, Richard J. Bauer "Lithium and Lithium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH: Weinheim.</ref>
==Chemical properties==
The salt forms crystalline [[water of crystallization|hydrates]], unlike the other alkali metal chlorides.<ref>Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.</ref> Mono-, tri-, and pentahydrates are known.<ref>Andreas Hönnerscheid, Jürgen Nuss, Claus Mühle, Martin Jansen "Die Kristallstrukturen der Monohydrate von Lithiumchlorid und Lithiumbromid" Zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine Chemie, 2003, volume 629, p. 312-316.{{DOI| 10.1002/zaac.200390049}}</ref> It also absorbs up to four equivalents of [[ammonia]]. As with any other ionic chlorides, solutions of lithium chloride serves as a source of [[chloride]] ion, e.g. forming a precipitate upon treatment as [[silver nitrate]]:
: LiCl + AgNO<sub>3</sub> → AgCl + LiNO<sub>3</sub>
==Preparation==
Lithium chloride is produced by treatment of [[lithium carbonate]] with [[hydrochloric acid]]. It can in principle also be generated by the highly [[exothermic reaction]] of lithium metal with either [[chlorine]] or anhydrous [[hydrogen chloride]] gas. To minimize [[hydrolysis]], anhydrous LiCl is prepared from the hydrate by heating with a stream of [[hydrogen chloride]].
==Uses==
Lithium chloride is mainly used for the production of [[lithium]] metal by [[electrolysis]] of a LiCl/[[potassium chloride|KCl]] melt at 600 °[[celsius|C]]. LiCl is also used as a brazing [[Flux (metallurgy)|flux]] for [[aluminium]] in [[automobile]] parts. It is used as a desiccant for drying air streams.<ref name=Ullmann/> In more specialized applications, lithium chloride finds some use in [[organic synthesis]], e.g. as an additive in the [[Stille reaction]]. Also, in biochemical applications, it can be used to precipitate [[RNA]] from cellular extracts.<ref>{{cite journal
| author= Cathala, G., Savouret, J., Mendez, B., West, B.L., Karin, M., Martial, J.A., and Baxter, J.D.
| title = A Method for Isolation of Intact, Translationally Active Ribonucleic Acid
| journal = DNA
| year = 1983
| volume = 2
| issue = 4
| pages = 329–335
| pmid = 6198133 }}</ref>
==Precautions==
Lithium salts affects the [[central nervous system]]; see [[lithium pharmacology]] for more details. For a short time in the 1940s lithium chloride was manufactured as a substitute for salt, but this was prohibited after the toxic effects of the compound were recognized.<ref>{{cite journal
| author= Talbott J. H.
| title = Use of lithium salts as a substitute for sodium chloride
| journal = Arch Med Interna.
| year = 1950
| volume = 85
| issue = 1
| pages = 1–10
| pmid = 15398859 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| author= L. W. Hanlon, M. Romaine, F. J. Gilroy.
| title = Lithium Chloride as a Substitute for Sodium Chloride in the Diet
| journal = Journal of the American Medical Association
| year = 1949
| volume = 139
| issue = 11
| pages = 688–692
| doi = }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | publisher = [[TIME]] | title = Case of trie Substitute Salt | date = 28 Feb 1949 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,799873,00.html}}</ref>
==References==
* ''Handbook of Chemistry and Physics'', 71st edition, CRC Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1990.
* N. N. Greenwood, A. Earnshaw, ''Chemistry of the Elements'', 2nd ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, 1997.
* R. Vatassery, titration analysis of LiCl, sat'd in Ethanol by AgNO3 to precipitate AgCl(s). EP of this titration gives%Cl by mass.
* H. Nechamkin, ''The Chemistry of the Elements'', McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968.
<references/>
[[Category:Chlorides]]
[[Category:Lithium compounds]]
[[Category:Metal halides]]
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