Lithium amide

Other Classes -> Bases

Flammable agents - 3rd degree

Tetragonal crystals

White crystalline powder

Slightly soluble in ethanol

SLIGHTLY SOL IN LIQ AMMONIA, ALCOHOL

Insoluble in anhydrous ether, benzene, toluene

Lithium amide is a white crystalline powder with an odor of ammonia. Denser than water.

White to colorless crystals with an ammonia-like odor; [HSDB]

Sublimes in ammonia current; heat of formation: 42 kcal/mol at 18 °C and 760 mm Hg; decomposed by water to form lithium hydroxide and ammonia, slowly when in lumps, faster as particle size decreases; stable in air-tight containers at room temperature

When heated in vacuo to 450 °C, ammonia is given off and Li2NH forms which decomposes at about 750-800 °C

Reacts with water

Stable in dry air, but sensitive to moisture

For more Other Experimental Properties (Complete) data for LITHIUM AMIDE (6 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

This chemical does not meet GHS hazard criteria for 2.8% (5 of 181) of reports.

Danger

H251 (59.1%): Self-heating; may catch fire [Danger Self-heating substances and mixtures]

P231+P232, P235, P260, P264, P264+P265, P273, P280, P301+P330+P331, P302+P361+P354, P304+P340, P305+P354+P338, P316, P317, P321, P363, P370+P378, P402+P404, P405, P407, P410, P413, P420, and P501 (click each P-code to see the statement)

Aggregated GHS information provided per 181 reports by companies from 8 notifications to the ECHA C&L Inventory. Each notification may be associated with multiple companies.

Chemical: Lithium amide (Li(NH2))

Status: Active Update: 06-02-2018 https://echa.europa.eu/registration-dossier/-/registered-dossier/22339

Lithium amide: HSNO Approval: HSR004531 Approved with controls

The New Jersey Worker and Community Right to Know Act requires public and private employers to provide information about hazardous substances at their workplaces. (N.J.S.A. 34:5A-1 et. seq.)

If ... THERE IS NO FIRE, go directly to the Table of Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances /(see table below)/ ... to obtain initial isolation and protective action distances. IF THERE IS A FIRE, or IF A FIRE IS INVOLVED, go directly to the appropriate guide /(see guide(s) below)/ and use the evacuation information shown under PUBLIC SAFETY. /Aluminum chloride, anhydrous/

Table of Water-Reactive Materials Which Produce Toxic Gases

/GUIDE 139: SUBSTANCES - WATER-REACTIVE (EMITTING FLAMMABLE AND TOXIC GASES)/ Fire or Explosion: Produce flammable and toxic gases on contact with water. May ignite on contact with water or moist air. Some react vigorously or explosively on contact with water. May be ignited by heat, sparks or flames. May re-ignite after fire is extinguished. Some are transported in highly flammable liquids. Containers may explode when heated. Runoff may create fire or explosion hazard.

/GUIDE 139: SUBSTANCES - WATER-REACTIVE (EMITTING FLAMMABLE AND TOXIC GASES)/ Health: Highly toxic: contact with water produces toxic gas, may be fatal if inhaled. Inhalation or contact with vapors, substance, or decomposition products may cause severe injury or death. May produce corrosive solutions on contact with water. Fire will produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases. Runoff from fire control may cause pollution.

For more DOT Emergency Guidelines (Complete) data for LITHIUM AMIDE (10 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

Self-heat. 1 (59.1%)

Flammable agents - 3rd degree, Reactive agents - 2nd degree

If material on fire or involved in fire: Do not use water. Use graphite, soda ash or powdered sodium chloride, or suitable dry powder. If fire is massive, back off, protect surroundings, and let burn. Keep run-off water out of sewers and water sources.

Environmental considerations - land spill: Dig a pit, pond, lagoon, holding area to contain liquid or solid material. /SRP: If time permits, pits, ponds, lagoons, soak holes, or holding areas should be sealed with an impermeable flexible membrane liner./ Cover solids with a plastic sheet to prevent dissolving in rain or fire fighting water.

Environmental considerations - water spill: Use natural barriers or oil spill control booms to limit spill travel Neutralize with dilute acid.

SRP: The most favorable course of action is to use an alternative chemical product with less inherent propensity for occupational exposure or environmental contamination. Recycle any unused portion of the material for its approved use or return it to the manufacturer or supplier. Ultimate disposal of the chemical must consider: the material's impact on air quality; potential migration in soil or water; effects on animal, aquatic, and plant life; and conformance with environmental and public health regulations.

If material not on fire and not involved in fire: Keep sparks, flames, and other sources of ignition away. Keep material out of water sources and sewers. Do not use water. Cover all suspected material with dry sand or earth to prevent ignition until material can be permanently disposed of.

Personnel protection Keep upwind. Avoid breathing dusts, and fumes from burning material.

SRP: The scientific literature for the use of contact lenses in industry is conflicting. The benefit or detrimental effects of wearing contact lenses depend not only upon the substance, but also on factors including the form of the substance, characteristics and duration of the exposure, the uses of other eye protection equipment, and the hygiene of the lenses. However, there may be individual substances whose irritating or corrosive properties are such that the wearing of contact lenses would be harmful to the eye. In those specific cases, contact lenses should not be worn. In any event, the usual eye protection equipment should be worn even when contact lenses are in place.

Excerpt from ERG Guide 139 [Substances - Water-Reactive (Emitting Flammable and Toxic Gases)]:

Personnel protection: ... Wear appropriate chemical protective gloves, boots and goggles. ... Wear positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus.

IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Lithium amide is a white crystalline powder which is slightly soluble in ethanol, liquid ammonia and insoluble in anhydrous ether, benzene , xylene and toluene. It is used in Claisen condensations; alkylation of nitriles and ketones; synthesis of ethynyl compounds, and acetylenic carbinols. It is used in organic synthesis, including antihistamines and other pharmaceuticals. HUMAN EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY: Lithium amide is a powerful irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membrane. ANIMAL STUDIES: The most prominent symptoms of acute lithium poisoning in animals when given lithium either by mouth or iv are anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and salivation with loss of weight, dehydration and fall of body temperature. Effects on CNS are manifested by muscular weakness, hyperirritability, stupor and convulsions; on the heart by EKG changes with auricular standstill or fibrillation; on the kidneys by oliguria, a rise in blood protein nitrogen and degenerative changes in tubular epithelium. Chronic renal failure was induced by administering lithium orally to 14 newborn rats. Seven rats were treated for 8 weeks followed by 8 weeks without lithium (group Li/C) and seven for 16 weeks (group Li/Li). Plasma urea and renal concentrating ability were measured, and one kidney fixed by vascular perfusion. Mean glomerular volume as well as volumes of individual glomeruli were estimated. In addition, the structural integrity between the glomerulus and the proximal tubule was investigated on serial sections. No sclerotic glomeruli were present. Only 37.6 and 27.9% of the glomeruli in the Li/C and Li/Li groups, respectively, were connected to a normal proximal tubule, and most remaining glomeruli were atubular. The mean glomerular volume was unchanged in the Li/C group and reduced by 40% in the Li/Li group. The intraindividual variation in glomerular volume was about 10-fold larger in the lithium-treated groups than in controls. The glomeruli connected to normal proximal tubules had the largest volumes, and hypertrophied glomeruli were encountered more frequently in the Li/C group than in the Li/Li group. There was a significant positive correlation between the plasma urea and the fraction of glomeruli that were not connected to normal proximal tubules. While there has been some indication of adverse effects on fetuses following lithium treatment, none was observed in rats, rabbits or primates. This dose to rats was sufficient to produce maternal toxicity and effects on the pups of treated, lactating dams.

/SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS/ Acute intoxication can occur in the initial phase in a course of therapy, but also at any point of time during long-lasting treatment or after an acute overdose. At plasma levels between 1.5 and 2.5 mmol/L, signs of toxicity include anorexia, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremor of the hands, faintness of musculature, thirst, leucocytosis, and concentration and memory disturbances (especially with older people). These phenomena are often seen in the initial phase of a course of treatment and usually disappear when treatment continues, except with the tremor of the hands. In elderly people, reversible delirious conditions can occur with confusion, restlessness, and ataxia. At plasma levels above 2.5 mmol/L, serious toxic symptoms occur; fasciculations, muscle contractions, hyperreflexia and hypertonia, drowsiness, confusion, sometimes epileptiform insults, hypotension, coma, collapse. Independent of the plasma level, changes can occur in the ECG and in the EEC, with symptoms such as polyuria and polydipsia, seldom nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, ulcers of the leg, enhancement of acne and psoriasis, transient hyperglycemia, pruritus, and a metal taste. In about 5% of the cases, a (usually reversible) hypothyroidia develops. /Li+/

/SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS/ A ... selective action of Li+ is to inhibit inositol monophosphatase and thus interfere with the phosphatidylinositol pathway ... This effect can lead to decr in cerebral inositol concn, which can be detected with magnetic resonance spectroscopy in human brain tissue. However, the physiological consequences of this effect remain uncertain, including interference with neurotransmission mechanisms that are mediated by the phosphatidylinositol pathway ... /Li+/

/SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS/ The prolonged use of Li+ causes a benign and reversible depression of the T wave of the ECG, an effect not related to depletion of Na+ or K+. /Li+/

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Acute Exposure/ THE MOST PROMINENT SYMPTOMS OF ACUTE LITHIUM POISONING IN ANIMALS, WHEN GIVEN LITHIUM EITHER BY MOUTH OR IV.../ARE/ ANOREXIA, NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIARRHEA & SALIVATION WITH LOSS OF WT, DEHYDRATION & FALL OF BODY TEMP. EFFECTS ON CNS ARE MANIFESTED BY MUSCULAR WEAKNESS, HYPERIRRITABILITY, STUPOR & CONVULSIONS; ON THE HEART BY EKG CHANGES...WITH AURICULAR STANDSTILL OR FIBRILLATION; ON THE KIDNEYS BY OLIGURIA, A RISE IN THE BLOOD PROTEIN NITROGEN AND DEGENERATIVE CHANGES IN THE TUBULAR EPITHELIUM. /LITHIUM NOS/

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Subchronic or Prechronic Exposure/ CHRONIC EFFECTS FOLLOWED THE ADMIN TO ADULT RATS OF DRINKING WATER CONTAINING LITHIUM IN JUST SUB-TOXIC DOSES; AFTER 3-5 DAYS THE RATS SHOWED DROWSINESS, TREMOR, APATHY, DEHYDRATION & EMACIATION; DEATH OCCURRED WITHIN 2-3 WK.. /LITHIUM NOS/

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Subchronic or Prechronic Exposure/ ... the usefulness of urine N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) for the early diagnosis of lithium-induced renal insufficiency /was examined in a rat model/. Lithium was administered by repeated intraperitoneal injection (1, 2 and 4 mEq/kg/day for 10 days). ... Lithium pretreatment elevated the plasma creatinine level and decreased paraaminohippuric acid (PAH) clearance in a dose-dependent manner. The NAG level in the lithium 4 mEq/kg group was very high. The levels in the lithium 1 mEq/kg and 2 mEq/kg groups were almost the same and were higher than the control group. A histological examination of the kidney revealed glomerular congestion and/or atrophy and tubular expansion in all of the groups except the control group. These histological changes were dose-dependent. ...

/LABORATORY ANIMALS: Subchronic or Prechronic Exposure/ Chronic renal failure was induced by administering lithium orally to 14 newborn rats. Seven rats were treated for 8 weeks followed by 8 weeks without lithium (group Li/C) and seven for 16 weeks (group Li/Li). Plasma urea and renal concentrating ability were measured, and one kidney fixed by vascular perfusion. Mean glomerular volume as well as volumes of individual glomeruli were estimated. In addition, the structural integrity between the glomerulus and the proximal tubule was investigated on serial sections. No sclerotic glomeruli were present. Only 37.6 and 27.9% of the glomeruli in the Li/C and Li/Li groups, respectively, were connected to a normal proximal tubule, and most remaining glomeruli were atubular. The mean glomerular volume was unchanged in the Li/C group and reduced by 40% in the Li/Li group. The intraindividual variation in glomerular volume was about 10-fold larger in the lithium-treated groups than in controls. The glomeruli connected to normal proximal tubules had the largest volumes, and hypertrophied glomeruli were encountered more frequently in the Li/C group than in the Li/Li group. There was a significant positive correlation between the plasma urea and the fraction of glomeruli that were not connected to normal proximal tubules.

For more Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts (Complete) data for LITHIUM AMIDE (8 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

Basic treatment: Establish a patent airway (oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal airway, if needed). Suction if necessary. Watch for signs of respiratory insufficiency and assist ventilations if necessary. Administer oxygen by nonrebreather mask at 10 to 15 L/min. Monitor for pulmonary edema and treat if necessary ... Monitor for shock and treat if necessary ... Anticipate seizures and treat if necessary ... For eye contamination, flush eyes immediately with water. Irrigate each eye continuously with 0.9% saline (NS) during treatment ... Do not use emetics. For ingestion, rinse mouth and administer 5 ml/kg up to 200 ml of water for dilution if the patient can swallow, has a strong gag reflex, and does not drool ... Cover skin burns with dry sterile dressings after decontamination ... /Lithium and related compounds/

Advanced treatment: Consider orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation for airway control in the patient who is unconscious, has severe pulmonary edema, or is in severe respiratory distress. Positive-pressure ventilation techniques with a bag-valve-mask device may be beneficial. Consider drug therapy for pulmonary edema ... Monitor cardiac rhythm and treat arrhythmias if necessary ... Start IV administration of D5W /SRP: "To keep open", minimal flow rate/. Use 0.9% saline (NS) or lactated Ringer's (LR) if signs of hypovolemia are present. For hypotension with signs of hypovolemia, administer fluid cautiously. Consider vasopressors if patient is hypotensive with a normal fluid volume. Watch for signs of fluid overload ... Treat seizures with diazepam or lorazepam ... Use proparacaine hydrochloride to assist eye irrigation ... /Lithium and related compounds/

Lithium amide

A Commercial Grade

A Placarded Amount

Chemical or material that can be mixed with readily available materials.

The plasma half-life (in healthy volunteers) shows a considerable variability: from 5 to 40 hr, with most values between 15 and 30 hr, it depends on the duration of treatment as well as on kidney function and age. /Li+/

...AFTER ORAL DOSES TO HUMAN SUBJECTS...THE TERMINAL ELIMINATION T/2 IS ABOUT 22 HR. /LITHIUM/

... The clinical features and pharmacokinetics of 22 lithium overdoses are described. Effectiveness of different treatment regimens regarding elimination of lithium is discussed. Origin of overdose was due to deliberate poisoning or precipitated by concomitant diseases, coadministration of drugs, or combination of both. Treatment included supportive care, diuretics (15/22), hemodialysis (HD; 9/22), and mechanical ventilation (3/22). Severity of lithium intoxication was classified in 50% as I degrees, in 41% as II degrees, and in 9% as III degrees according to Hansen and Amdisen. Renal impairment on admission was diagnosed in 82% of the patients. Half-life of lithium in serum was 3.5 +/- 0.8 hr during the first HD, and 29 +/- 14 and 29 +/- 6 hr during therapy with diuretics or supportive treatment, respectively. Lithium clearance during HD was 160 +/- 15 mL/min, and renal clearance during HD or treatment with diuretics was approximately 20 and 15 +/- 9 mL/min, respectively. Renal lithium clearance was not influenced by HD therapy. There was no difference regarding half-life and clearance between the group that had an unspecific treatment or the group treated with diuretics. ... /Lithium NOS/

The usual elimination half-life is 12 to 27 hr, but it may rise to nearly 60 hr if renal excretion is compromised. /Li+/

All sol lithium cmpd are readily absorbed from GI tract as well as from sc, im, and ip depots, appearing in tissue fluids and organs within a few min of admin. /Sol lithium cmpd/

Li+ is absorbed readily and almost completely from the GI tract. Complete absorption occurs in about 8 hr, with peak concn in plasma occurring 2 to 4 hr after an oral dose. Slow-release preparations of lithium carbonate provide a slower rate of absorption and thereby minimize early peaks in plasma concn of the ion. However, absorption can be variable, and the incidence of lower intestinal tract symptoms may be incr. Li+ initially is distributed in the extracellular fluid and then gradually accumulates in various tissues. The concentration gradient across plasma membranes is much smaller than those for Na+ and K+. The final volume of distribution (0.7 to 0.9 L/kg) approaches that of total body water and is much lower than that of most other psychotropic agents, which are lipophilic and protein-bound. Passage through the blood-brain barrier is slow, and when a steady state is achieved, the concn of Li+ in the cerebrospinal fluid is about 40% to 50% of the concn in plasma. The ion does not bind appreciably to plasma proteins. /Li+/

LI+ OBEYS TWO-COMPARTMENT MODEL KINETICS AFTER ORAL DOSES TO HUMAN SUBJECTS. ITS DISTRIBUTION & ELIMINATION KINETICS ARE INDEPENDENT OF THE ACCOMPANYING ANION & THE TERMINAL ELIMINATION T/2 IS ABOUT 22 HR. /Li+/

Approximately 95% of a single dose of Li+ is eliminated in the urine. From one- to two-thirds of an acute dose is excreted during a 6- to 12-hr initial phase of excretion, followed by slow excretion over the next 10 to 14 days. The elimination half-life averages 20 to 24 hr. With repeated admin, Li+ excretion incr during the first 5 to 6 days until a steady state is reached between ingestion and excretion. When therapy with Li+ is stopped, there is a rapid phase of renal excretion followed by a slow 10- to 14-day phase. Since 80% of the filtered Li+ is reabsorbed by the proximal renal tubules, clearance of Li+ by the kidney is about 20% of that for creatinine, ranging between 15 and 30 mL/min. This is somewhat lower in elderly patients (10 to 15 mL/min). /Li+/

For more Absorption, Distribution and Excretion (Complete) data for LITHIUM AMIDE (11 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

Used in the production of pharmaceuticals and antioxidants; Used as a catalyst for polymers and other chemical synthesis; [HSDB]

Plastic Composites Manufacturing [Category: Industry]

In Claisen condensations; alkylation of nitriles and ketones; synthesis of ethynyl compounds, acetylenic carbinols.

Organic synthesis, including antihistamines & other pharmaceuticals

Production of antioxidants and antihistamines

Lithium amide is now used in many reactions in preference to sodium amide for safety reasons, and because it often shows greater selectivity.

Lithium amide is produced industrially by heating lithium metal or lithium hydride in a stream of ammonia. It also forms slowly when lithium metal dissolves in liquid ammonia.

Lithium amide is produced from the reaction of anhydrous ammonia and lithium hydride.

Removal of ammonia from solutions of lithium in the presence of catalysts.

Lithium amide is produced industrially by heating lithium metal or lithium hydride in a stream of ammonia. It also forms slowly when lithium metal dissolves in liquid ammonia.