Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Inorganic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: maxvortex on November 13, 2012, 07:42:25 AM
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What could be the "best" substitute for lithium hydroxide.
The lithium hydroxide is mixed with KOH in edison battery but because lithium hydroxide is to expensive for me, i was thinking to put some kind of substitute.
Maybe magnesium hydroxide ?
btw. what's the difference between lithium hydroxide monohydrate and lithium hydroxide.
Is there any difference ?
Max
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You can use potassium hydroxide alone. Lithium hydroxide is LiOH, Lithium hydroxide monohydrate is LiOH x H2O. The cristalls contain water. But no difference in solution.
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Lithium hydroxide should be used to get better performance of edison battery cell.
KOH is the base and everything else is just for improving the cell.
I dont understand why is lithium used as some kind of additive.
Iron oxide on one plate side, nickel oxide on other and koh in between.
Adding lithium to koh should not change anything but it looks like it does.
Max
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I dont understand why...
Quite normal. It's electrochemistry.
When specialists give an explanation there, they first double-check that they explain the observed effect and not its opposite.
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Lithium hydroxide is used because Li has the highest negative redox potential and is also light. It probably also has something to do with the high charge density on Li+ because if you think about the redox potential of group 1 elements, it doesn't actually vary that much (-2.9 to -3.04). You won't find a good substitute for it but I would try Mg because of the diagonal relationship it has with Li
Lithium is light therefore it can also diffuse faster in the cell compared to the other group 1 elements.
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Would magnesium hydroxide be soluble enough for that use?
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With Ksp around 10-11 it is quite insoluble.