CID 45051622

UsesLithium nitrate is used in ceramics, pyrotechnics, salt baths, heat-exchange media, refrigeration systems, rocket propellant and in solar batteries. It acts as an oxidizing agent used in the production of red-colored fireworks and flares, as a catalyst to accelerate the breakdown of nitrogen oxides and as a medium to store heat received from sun for cooking. It is applied to concrete-pavement to withstand weathering effects.

UsesLithium nitrate can be used in special pyrotechnic devices to give a red flame. It may also be used in combination with other salts, particularly nitrates, to produce low-melting fused salt mixtures.

General DescriptionA white to light yellow colored crystalline solid. Denser than water. Contact with the material may cause irritation to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. May be toxic by ingestion. May cause the acceleration of the burning of combustible materials. Prolonged exposure to heat or flames may result in an explosion.

PreparationLithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate is added to the reactor containing distilled water, and nitric acid is slowly added under stirring and heating to carry out the reaction. Then we evaporate it to dryness and heat it under vacuum at about 200 ° C, finally we get lithium nitrate. HNO3+LiOH→LiNO3+H2O

PreparationLithium nitrate is readily prepared industrially or in the laboratory by the reaction of lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate with nitric acid. The resulting solution is evaporated and the solid is dried to obtain anhydrous lithium nitrate. Lithium nitrate is very soluble in water. The compound absorbs moisture from the air. Below about 30 °C it crystallizes from solution as lithium nitrate trihydrate; above that temperature the anhydrous material precipitates although the question of the existence of a half-hydrate is not entirely settled.