| Lithium carbonate | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| IUPAC name |
Lithium carbonate
|
| Other names | Dilithium carbonate, Carbolith, Cibalith-S, Duralith, Eskalith, Lithane, Lithizine, Lithobid, Lithonate, Lithotabs Priadel |
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | 554-13-2  |
| PubChem | 11125 |
| RTECS number | OJ5800000 |
| Properties | |
| Molecular formula | Li2CO3 |
| Molar mass | 73.891 g/mol |
| Appearance | Odorless white powder |
| Density | 2.11 g/cm3 |
| Melting point |
723 °C |
| Boiling point |
1310 °C decomp. |
| Solubility in water | 1.54 g/100 mL (0 °C) 1.32 g/100 mL (20 °C) 0.72 g/100 mL (100 °C) |
| Solubility | insoluble in acetone and ethanol |
| Refractive index (nD) | 1.428 [1] |
| Thermochemistry | |
| Std enthalpy of formation ΔfH |
-16.46 kJ/g |
| Specific heat capacity, C | 1.341 J/g K |
| Hazards | |
| MSDS | ICSC 1109 |
| EU Index | Not listed |
| Main hazards | irritant |
| Flash point | Non-flammable |
| LD50 | 525 mg/kg |
| Related compounds | |
| Other cations | Sodium carbonate Potassium carbonate Rubidium carbonate Caesium carbonate |
| (what is this?) (verify) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) |
|
| Infobox references | |
Lithium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula Li2CO3. This colorless salt is widely used in the processing of metal oxide and has received attention for its use in psychiatry.
Contents |
Properties
Like all other inorganic carbonates, Li2CO3 is polymeric. It is slightly soluble in water: only 1.33 grams dissolve in 100 mL at room temperature (around 22 degrees Celsius). Its solubility decreases at higher temperatures. The isolation of lithium from aqueous extracts of its ores capitalizes on this low solubility. Its apparent solubility increases tenfold under a mild pressure of carbon dioxide; this effect is due to the formation of the metastable bicarbonate:
- Li2CO3 + CO2 + H2O → 2 LiHCO3
Applications
Lithium carbonate is an important industrial chemical. It forms low-melting fluxes with silica and other materials. Glasses derived from lithium carbonate are useful in ovenware. Cement sets more rapidly when prepared with lithium carbonate, and is useful for tile adhesives. When added to aluminium trifluoride, it forms LiF which gives a superior electrolyte for the processing of aluminium.[2] Lithium carbonate can be used in a type of carbon dioxide sensor[3]. It is also used in the manufacture of most lithium-ion battery cathodes, which are made of lithium cobalt oxide.
Medical uses
Lithium carbonate is used to treat mania, the up phase of bipolar disorder. Lithium ions interfere with chemical reactions (sodium pump) that relay and amplify messages carried to the cells of the brain. [4] In mania there is an observed irregular, increase in protein kinase C’s (PKC) activity within the brain. A recent study has shown that lithium carbonate and sodium valporate, another drug traditionally used to treat the disorder, act in the brain by inhibiting PKC’s activity and help to create other compounds that also inhibit the PKC. Lithium carbonate is of little use for someone suffering from depression. [5]
Daily doses of lithium, have been found to delay progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in an Italian study of 44 people with the disease. No other treatment to date has shown such a dramatic effect on ALS.[6]
In 1843, lithium carbonate was used as a new solvent for stones in the bladder. In 1859, some doctors recommended a therapy with lithium salts for a number of ailments including gout, urinary calculi, rheumatism, mania, depression and headache. In 1949, Cade discovered the antimanic effects of lithium ions. This knowledge led lithium, specifically lithium carbonate to be used to treat mania associated with bipolar disorder. Recently, topical lithium has been utilized in dermatologic disorders, such as herpes viral infections. It is hoped that lithium will be used in the future as an antiinflammatory, antiviral, antifungal, and antitumor agent. Lithium salts when used at low doses do not cause addiction, but do have a number of risks and side effects associated with their use, especially at higher doses.[7] Lithium intoxication affects the central nervous system and renal system and is potentially lethal.[8]
As with cocaine in Coca-Cola, lithium was widely marketed as one of a number of patent medicine products popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and was later to evolve into a refreshment beverage. 7 Up was created by Charles Leiper Grigg who launched his St. Louis-based company The Howdy Corporation in 1920. Grigg came up with the formula for a lemon-lime soft drink in 1929. The product, originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda", was launched two weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, just when it would be most needed. It contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug. It was one of a number of patent medicine products popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries; they made claims similar to today's health foods. Specifically it was marketed as a hangover cure. The product's name was soon changed to 7 Up. According to Professor Gary Yu (UCSB) and researchers for the once popular "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader" the name is derived from the atomic mass of Lithium, 7, which was originally one of the key ingredients of the drink (as lithium citrate). Lithium citrate was removed from 7 Up's formula in 1950. [9]
Pyrotechnics
Lithium carbonate is found in fireworks, because lithium imparts a deep red to flames.
References
- ^ Pradyot Patnaik. Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals. McGraw-Hill, 2002, ISBN 0070494398
- ^ Ulrich Wietelmann, Richard J. Bauer "Lithium and Lithium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH: Weinheim.
- ^ http://www.figarosensor.com/products/4161Dtl.pdf
- ^ Medical use
- ^ Aysegul, Y., Pauler, D. Perry, F. Arch. Gen. Psych. 2008. 65. 255.
- ^ MDA Research | Lithium Slows ALS Progression In Study
- ^ Ulrich, S. Jour. Tra. Micro. Tech. 1998. 149. 535.
- ^ Simard, M., Gumbiner, B., Lee, A., Lewis, H., and Norman, D. Arch. Int. Med. 1989. 149. 36.
- ^ 7 UP: The Making of a Legend". Cadbury Schweppes: America's Beverages
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