Good morning everyone and welcome to this Sunday morning GUS chemistry installment. As I've mentioned before I don't want to talk about smoking too much if I can help it so I'll write about chemistry. My first GUS diary featured the 2nd element on the periodic table so this week I'll stay in order and try to give a little overview of element #3, Lithium.
Lithium is number three on the table as its nucleus contains 3 protons. It is the first member of the column of metallic elements called the alkali metals. In its neutral form, it is a shiny but very soft metal. However, this form of lithium is very reactive and must be protected from the atmosphere when it is stored. This youtube video gives a nice demo of what a piece of lithium foil looks like and how rapidly it reacts with water. You'll notice that the lithium here is stored in mineral oil to
protect it from the atmosphere. In addition to reacting with water lithium reacts with oxygen and amazingly nitrogen gas (N2). Lithium reacts quite quickly with nitrogen gas to form lithium nitride. This is amazing as nitrogen is normally extremely stable and aside from manganesium, Li is the only element that reacts with it. Metallic Li is so reactive because of its electron configuration. It has just one electron in its outermost orbital and if it looses this electron (gets oxidized), the lithium atom is left with two electrons in the same configuration as Helium which is very stable. It is this desire for stability that makes that electron really easy to remove and thus makes the element so reactive. This stable, oxidized form of lithium is positively charged ion (positive ions are called cations) and together with negatively charged ions forms neutral species.
One familiar use of Li is as a mood stabilizer for people suffering from bi-polar disorder. Usually Lithium Carbonate (Li2CO3) or Lithium citrate are used as the Li+ sources for this treatment. How Li actually works in this role is still up for debate. What is known is that it has an effect on the release and uptake of neurotransmitters in the nervous system.
One famous widespread use lithium plays in modern science and technology is in rechargeable batteries, aka Lithium ion batteries. I currently work as a "post-doc" conducting research on lithium ion battery materials so if you have a specific question feel free to ask in the comments. Rechargeable LI batteries have two essential parts, the anode and cathode. Currently commercial batteries use graphite as an anode. For the cathode, the first cells (originally patented by sony in 1992) use Lithium Cobalt Oxide(LiCoO2). When these cells are charged Li ions leave LiCoO2, and travel through an electrolyte solution to the graphite where the Li atoms then settle in the graphite between 2D layers of carbon atoms. The battery then is able to produce current by the reverse reaction in which lithium flows back to the Cobalt Oxide spontaneously.
The last major role I want to mention that Li plays in chemistry is in organic synthesis. Li can actually form chemical bonds with carbon atoms (a field of chemistry called organometallic chemistry). A very common reagent is butyl-lithium (here's its structure) which is indispensable for organic synthesis in such fields as pharmaceutical chemistry. nButyl lithium and its cousin tButyl lithium are extremely reactive and are handled in soltions stored under inert gases. tButyl lithium solutions are so reactive they actually ignite on contact with the atmosphere (I can personally attest to this). It was the mishandling of this compound that led to the tragic death of young research student at UCLA earlier this yearwho died from burns she incurred after accidentally spilling the material on her sweater which instantly ignited.
Of course this diary barely scratches the surface of all the uses of lithium but hopefully now you know a little bit more about it. On that note I'd like to wish everyone a happy, smoke-free Sunday! Keep up the good work gussacks!
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