Everything about Lithium Hydride totally explained
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Lithium hydride (
LiH) is the
compound of
lithium and hydrogen. It is a colourless crystalline solid, although commercial samples appear gray. Characteristic of a salt-like hydride, it has a high melting point (689 °
C or 1272 °
F). Its density is 780
kilograms per cubic metre. It has a standard heat capacity of 29.73 J/mol*k with thermal conductivity that varies with composition and pressure (from at least 10 to 5 W/m*K at 400 K) and decreases with temperature.
It is a flammable solid and very reactive with water, producing the corrosive compound
lithium hydroxide as well as hydrogen.
» LiH + H
2O → LiOH + H
2
Synthesis
It is produced by reacting lithium metal with hydrogen gas:
» 2 Li + H
2 2 LiH
Uses
LiH has numerous uses, as a
desiccant, as a precursor for the synthesis of
lithium aluminium hydride, in hydrogen generators, as both a coolant and shielding in
nuclear reactors, and in the manufacture of
ceramics. LiH has the highest hydrogen content (in mass percentage) of any saline hydride. The hydrogen content of LiH is three times that of NaH (though its
stoichiometry is identical), because
lithium is lighter than
sodium, making LiH of interest for hydrogen storage.
The corresponding lithium
deuteride, formula LiD, is the
fusion fuel in
thermonuclear weapons. In warheads of the
Teller-Ulam design, LiD is compressed and heated by the explosion of the fission primary to the point where fusion occurs. Lithium deuteride, unlike
tritium, is non-radioactive.
Safety
LiH is flammable in air, and it reacts explosively with water to give corrosive LiOH together with hydrogen gas.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lithium Hydride'.
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