Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Lithium + xylene = ?

Brain&Force - 8-9-2014 at 12:44

Today I attempted to extract and preserve lithium from a battery. The lithium was to be stored under xylene bought from Ace hardware stores in a plastic bottle resistant to dissolution in xylene. Additionally, a small amount of xylene was ignited in the plastic bottle beforehand to remove some oxygen from the bottle. A small amount of xylene was then poured in.

When the lithium was placed in the xylene, bubbling occurred. I thought lithium would not react with the xylene, but apparently this is not the case. The lithium had blackened on exposure to the solvent, and was removed for immediate use.

One final note: when the xylene was ignited, not all of it combusted and the leftover liquid had turned yellow.

Is xylene unsuitable for the storage of lithium? Should I have used mineral oil or toluene instead? Is there any way to exploit the reaction to make something useful?

DraconicAcid - 8-9-2014 at 13:00

I suspect very strongly that your xylene was impure, and it wasn't the xylene doing the reaction.

TheChemiKid - 8-9-2014 at 13:04

I bet the xylene is impure.
Oops, you beat me to it.

[Edited on 8-9-2014 by TheChemiKid]

forgottenpassword - 8-9-2014 at 13:49

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force  
a small amount of xylene was ignited in the plastic bottle beforehand to remove some oxygen from the bottle. A small amount of xylene was then poured in.

This is the source of your problem. You removed oxygen by creating water.

Brain&Force - 8-9-2014 at 15:16

Well, that explains it.

Brain&Force - 9-9-2014 at 08:41

I just put lithium in water-free xylene and no reaction occurred. forgottenpassword was right.

FireLion3 - 9-9-2014 at 13:46

It is also worth noting, the black layer that forms on the outside of Lithium it Lithium Nitride by reaction with Nitrogen Gas. Li3N is a very strong base. So be ware that there is bound to be some ammonia in your reaction when the lithium reacts (with water or something else)

xfusion44 - 28-9-2014 at 04:27

Quote: Originally posted by FireLion3  
It is also worth noting, the black layer that forms on the outside of Lithium it Lithium Nitride by reaction with Nitrogen Gas. Li3N is a very strong base. So be ware that there is bound to be some ammonia in your reaction when the lithium reacts (with water or something else)


Are you sure? I thought it was Li2O. Isn't nitrogen pretty inert element? And on Wikipedia it says for Li3N, that it's red or purple in color, not black.

UnintentionalChaos - 28-9-2014 at 12:05

Quote: Originally posted by xfusion44  
Quote: Originally posted by FireLion3  
It is also worth noting, the black layer that forms on the outside of Lithium it Lithium Nitride by reaction with Nitrogen Gas. Li3N is a very strong base. So be ware that there is bound to be some ammonia in your reaction when the lithium reacts (with water or something else)


Are you sure? I thought it was Li2O. Isn't nitrogen pretty inert element? And on Wikipedia it says for Li3N, that it's red or purple in color, not black.


Li2O is white. I think the dark color is mostly a result of thin-film effects and if allowed to stand in air for longer, a crusty white layer would form.

zenosx - 6-10-2014 at 18:59

Not informative but I like the gif :)

I store my lithium in mineral oil but I have the issue of it floating to the surface and still oxidizing. Perhaps stored in mineral oil in a vacuum or under N2 or Ar?
Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force  
Well, that explains it.



[Edited on 7-10-2014 by zenosx]

WacGuyver - 7-10-2014 at 16:23

Plus it evaps too quickly, I like slower for Li storage. I've had great success weighing it down submerged under mineral oil. (Drug store brand, No reactions occurred. Much lower volatility and degradation of storage vessel than xylene. I had a plate that perfectly fit the diameter of a 1gal. bucket, I was able to push the plate down and submerge the Li.