Lithium Hydroxide → Dilithium monocopper(II) citrate

Participants

Reaction Steps

10 millimoles of lithium citrate were dissolved in 10 milliliters of water. To this solution, 10 millimoles of cupric chloride (CuCl2.2H2O) were added gradually with stirring. A deep blue solution was formed. This was neutralized to a pH of about 7 with 10 millimoles of lithium hydroxide (LiOH.H2O). This solution, when evaporated to dryness, gave a deep blue, semicrystalline solid. This solid was ground to a fine powder and the lithium chloride was extracted with 50 milliliters of dry methanol, five times, at 35° C. The blue solid which remained behind was evacuated to remove methanol and desiccated. An attempt was made to crystallize the salt from water-organic solvent systems, but apparently due to the extremely hygroscopic nature of the salt and the high negative charge on the ionized molecule, the solid obtained was microcrystalline to amorphous. The following formula is proposed for the 1:1 complex of copper and citrate based on elucidation of the structure and analyses described hereinafter.

Provenance & Evidence