Lithium perchlorate

Perchlorsaueres lithium

White solid

Fixed

2.43 g · cm -3

236 ° C

Decomposition at 400 ° C

Soluble in water and ethanol

Risk

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The lithium salt of perchloric acid, lithium perchlorate, and as many perchlorate is a strong oxidizer at elevated temperature. It is a colorless, water, alcohols and some other solvents, slightly soluble solid.

Production

Lithium perchlorate may be made from perchloric acid and lithium carbonate.

Properties

Lithium perchlorate crystallized as the trihydrate LiClO4 · 3 H2O in the hexagonal crystal system in space group P63mc. The lattice parameters a = 7.719 Å and be c = 5.455 Å. At 98-100 ° C it turns into a monohydrate LiClO4 · H2O elimination of water. The anhydrate is formed at 130-150 ° C, it crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system, space group Pnma and lattice parameters a = 8.657 Å, b = 6.912 Å and c = 4.832 Å. In the unit cell contains four formula units.

At 380 ° C, pure lithium perchlorate decomposes initially in lithium chlorate, lithium chloride and oxygen. The lithium chlorate decomposes also:

The overall reaction is therefore:

Contaminated lithium perchlorate can already decompose below 300 ° C in a violent reaction.

Handling

Heat, open flame, strong reducing agents and flammable substances should be avoided due to the risk of explosion.

Areas of application

Lithium perchlorate is technically limited use, since it is expensive and difficult to handle. Because it is relatively well soluble in many organic solvents, including ethanol and ether, there is used as the electrolyte, in particular the use in lithium batteries is significant. Another example for use as an electrolyte in non-aqueous solutions is the production of polypyrrole, which may then be doped with lithium.

Since lithium has under all previously known perchlorates the best mass -volume ratio of oxygen, it is estimated in the aerospace industry as an oxygen carrier.