What is the charge of lithium? How does lithium form ions?
This article discusses the charge of lithium, the first in the series of alkali metals. Just like every other element, lithium is naturally an uncharged atom. It develops a charge when it reacts with electronegative elements that pull the valence electron.
Lithium exhibits only one oxidation state because it has only one electron in its outermost shell. Moreover, that electron is tightly held to the nucleus, which makes it fairly reactive.
Continue reading to learn more about the properties of lithium.
Properties of lithium
- Lithium is the lightest solid metal there is
- It is an alkali metal located in group 1, period 2 of the periodic table
- Lithium has an atomic number of 3 and a mass number of 6.94
- It has an electronic configuration of 1s22s1 and 2,1 electrons in its shells
- Lithium is a soft, silvery-white metal that is not found naturally in its pure form
- Lithium is present in molten rocks and saltwater in trace amounts
- It also occurs in pegmatite ores, such as spodumene (LiAlSi2O6) and lepidolite
- Furthermore, lithium is naturally sold as lithium carbonate, Li2CO3. But, the elemental form is separated via hydrolysis with HCl
- Lithium has a melting point of 356.90°F (180.50°C) and a boiling point of 2,426°F (1,330°C)
- At its melting point, lithium has a density of 0.512 g/cm3. The density increases to 0.534 g/cm3
- On the Pauling scale, lithium has an electronegativity of 0.98
- The first, second, and third ionization energies of lithium are as follows 520.2 kJ/mol, 7,298.1 kJ/mol, and 11,815.0 kJ/mol
- In addition, lithium is not a radioactive element but it has two isotopes of mass number 6 and 7. Lithium-6 is more abundant in nature than lithium-7. It makes up 92.5% of the lithium present on the Earth’s crust
What is the charge of lithium when it forms an ion?
Lithium ordinarily does not have a charge. But, when it forms ions, it develops a +1 charge. The charge of an element can be determined by the oxidation state, the number of electrons in its outermost shell, and its group on the periodic table.
The charge of lithium is the same as its oxidation state, its valency, and group number.
What is the charge of lithium in lithium oxide?
In lithium oxide, Li2O, the charge of Li is +1. We can determine the charge of this metal by substituting the oxidation state of oxygen into the chemical formula.
2Li + (-2) = 0
2Li = +2
Li = +1
What is the nuclear charge of lithium?
The nuclear charge of an element is the total charge of protons in the nucleus. It is equal to the atomic number of the element. Therefore, the nuclear charge of lithium is 3.
What are the reactions of lithium?
With air
The silvery-white surface of lithium tarnishes upon reaction with oxygen. Lithium is oxidized into white lithium oxide, Li2O. Sometimes, lithium oxidizes into lithium peroxide, Li2O2.
4Li (s) + O2 (g) ———> 2LiO (s)
Also, lithium may react with the nitrogen in the air to form lithium nitride, Li3N. Lithium is the only group 1 metal that can undergo this reaction with nitrogen.
6Li (s) + N2 (g) ———> 2Li3N (s)
With water
When lithium metal slowly reacts with water to form colorless lithium hydroxide, LiOH. It also gives off hydrogen gas in this exothermic reaction. LiOH is a basic solution and becomes more basic as it dissolves further.
2Li (s) + H2O ———> 2LiOH(aq) + H2 (g)
With halogens
Like most metals, lithium reacts vigorously with all the members of the halogen family to form respective halides.
That is, lithium reacts with fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine to form lithium fluoride (LiF), lithium chloride (LiCl), lithium bromide (LiBr), and lithium iodide (LiI).
- 2Li (s) + F2 (g) ———> 2LiF (s)
- 2Li (s) + Cl 2(g) ———> 2LiCl (s)
- 2Li (s) + Br 2(g) ———> 2LiBr (s)
- 2Li (s) + I 2(g) ———> 2LiI (s)
With acids
Lithium reacts with different acids differently.
With dilute sulphuric acid, it forms lithium sulfate and gives off hydrogen gas.
2Li (s) + H2SO4 (l) ———> Li2SO4 (s) + H2 (g)
With concentrated sulphuric acid, it forms lithium sulfate, hydrogen sulfide, and water.
8Li (s) + H2SO4 (l) ———> 4Li2SO4 (s) + H2S (g) + 4H2O (l)
With hydrochloric acid, lithium will displace hydrogen and form lithium chloride, giving off hydrogen gas.
2Li (s) + 2HCl (l) ———> 2LiCl (s) + H2 (g)
When lithium reacts with dilute nitric acid, it forms lithium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and water.
8Li (s) + 10HNO3 (l) ———> 8LiNO3 (s) + NH4NO3 (s) + 3H2O (l)
With concentrated nitric acid, lithium forms lithium nitrate, nitrogen dioxide, and water.
Li (s) + 2HNO3 (l) ———> LiNO3 (s) + NO2 (g) + H2O (l)
FAQs
What is the charge of lithium in lithium chloride?
In lithium chloride, LiCl, lithium is the metal, and chlorine is the nonmetal. They both react to form an ionic compound. Naturally, both elements are neutral, but as chlorine (with a higher electronegativity) pulls an electron from lithium, it becomes Cl- with a -1 charge, and lithium has a +1 charge.
What is the charge of lithium in lithium carbonate?
The charge of lithium in lithium carbonate, Li2CO3, is +1. We can determine this charge by substituting the charge of the anion, CO32-, into the chemical formula.
2Li + (-2) = 0
2Li = +2
Li = +1
What elements does lithium react with?
Lithium reacts with oxygen, water, hydrogen, and halogens. It reacts less violently, unlike other metals in the group. Lithium does not react with oxygen except in high temperatures. Also, it reacts less slowly with water and is the only metal that reacts with nitrogen at room temperature.
Conclusion
Lithium forms Li+1 when it loses one electron to nonmetals like chlorine. Lithium has this charge when it forms compounds with other elements. It has a low reactivity, unlike other metals in group 1.
Lithium also reacts quite differently from other metals. It has a higher ionization energy and forms a smaller ion when compared with the other metals within its group. This makes it a more stable metal. Lithium also forms more stable hydrides than the likes of sodium.
Also, read about the charge of potassium, another alkali metal.
Thanks for reading.