Lithium oxalate explained

Lithium oxalate is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is a salt of lithium metal and oxalic acid.^{[1] [2]} It consists of lithium cations and oxalate anions . Lithium oxalate is soluble in water and converts to lithium oxide when heated.^[3]

Synthesis

One of the methods of synthesis is the reaction of direct neutralization of oxalic acid with lithium hydroxide:

Properties

The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system, cell parameters a = 3.400 Å, b = 5.156 Å, c = 9.055 Å, β = 95.60°, Z = 4.^[1]

Lithium oxalate decomposes when heated at :

Applications

In pyrotechnics, the compound is used to color the flame red.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Beagley . B. . Small . R. W. H. . The structure of lithium oxalate . . 15 June 2021 . 783–788 . en . 10.1107/S0365110X64002079 . 1964-06-10. 17 . 6 . free.
2. Solchenbach . Sophie . Wetjen . Morten . Pritzl . Daniel . Schwenke . K. Uta . Gasteiger . Hubert A. . Lithium Oxalate as Capacity and Cycle-Life Enhancer in LNMO/Graphite and LNMO/SiG Full Cells . . A512–A524 . en . 10.1149/2.0611803jes . 2018. 165 . 3 . 104199908 . free.
3. Web site: Lithium Oxalate . . 10 Feb 2022 . en.
4. Koch . Ernst-Christian . Is it possible to Obtain a Deep Red Pyrotechnic Flame Based on Lithium? . 15 June 2021 . 10.13140/2.1.1657.0567 . 2009. 36th International Pyrotechnics Seminar.