Dilithium oxide
- Formula: Li2O
- Hill system formula: Li2O1
- CAS registry number: [12057-24-8]
- Formula weight: 29.881
- Class: oxide
- Colour: white
- Appearance: crystalline solid
- Melting point: 1570°C
- Boiling point:
- Density: 2013 kg m-3
The following are some synonyms of dilithium oxide:
- dilithium oxide
- lithium(I) oxide
- lithium oxide
The oxidation number of lithium in dilithium oxide is 1.
Synthesis
When lithium is burned in air, the main product is the white oxide lithium oxide, Li2O. In addition, some lithium peroxide, Li2O2, also white, is produced. It can also be made through the thermal decomposition of lithium hydroxide, LiOH, or lithium peroxide, Li2O2
4Li(s) + O2(g) → 2Li2O(s)
2LiOH(s) + heat → Li2O(s) + H2O(g)
2Li2O2(s) + heat → 2Li2O(s) + O2(g)
Solid state structure
- Geometry of lithium: 4 coordinate: tetrahedral
- Prototypical structure: Na2O (antifluorite)
Element analysis
The table shows element percentages for Li2O (dilithium oxide).
| Element | % |
|---|---|
| Li | 46.46 |
| O | 53.54 |
Isotope pattern for Li2O
The chart below shows the calculated isotope pattern for the formula Li2O with the most intense ion set to 100%.
References
The data on these compounds pages are assembled and adapted from the primary literature and several other sources including the following.
- R.T. Sanderson in Chemical Periodicity, Reinhold, New York, USA, 1960.
- N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw in Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition, Butterworth, UK, 1997.
- F.A. Cotton, G. Wilkinson, C.A. Murillo, and M. Bochmann, in Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
- A.F. Trotman-Dickenson, (ed.) in Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry, Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 1973.
- R.W.G. Wyckoff, in Crystal Structures, volume 1, Interscience, John Wiley & Sons, 1963.
- A.R.West in Basic solid state chemistry Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
- A.F. Wells in Structural inorganic chemistry, 4th edition, Oxford, UK, 1975.
- J.D.H. Donnay, (ed.) in Crystal data determinative tables, ACA monograph number 5, American Crystallographic Association, USA, 1963.
- D.R. Lide, (ed.) in Chemical Rubber Company handbook of chemistry and physics, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, 77th edition, 1996.
- J.W. Mellor in A comprehensive treatise on inorganic and theoretical chemistry, volumes 1-16, Longmans, London, UK, 1922-1937.
- J.E. Macintyre (ed.) in Dictionary of inorganic compounds, volumes 1-3, Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 1992.