Why is li so reactive

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Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. I do not understand how you can work out which element will react more readily with another element. For example, I have lithium Li and sodium Na and I am trying to work out which element will be more reactive with oxygen. How do I manage to work that out? Reactivity of Group 1 and 2 elements increases as you go down the periodic table.

So sodium is more reactive than lithium. Basically, there are general trends reactivity with acids, air, etc. Sodium can donate its electrons more easily because the valence electron is further from the nucleus and the force of attraction between both is weaker. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top.

Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Lithium is able to be used in the function of a Lithium battery in which the Lithium metal serves as the anode. Lithium ions serve in lithium ion batteries chargeable in which the lithium ions move from the negative to positive electrode when discharging, and vice versa when charging.

Lithium has the highest specific heat capacity of the solids, Lithium tends to be used as a cooler for heat transfer techniques and applications.

These have been found on each of the 6 inhabited continents, but they are mined primarily in Western Australia, China, and Chile.

Mineral sources of lithium are becoming less essential, as methods have now been developed to make use of the lithium salts found in saltwater. The mineral forms of lithium are heated to a high enough temperature K - K in order to crumble them and thus allow for subsequent reactions to more easily take place.

After this process, one of three methods can be applied. The lithium chloride obtained from any of the three methods undergoes an oxidation-reduction reaction in an electrolytic cell, to separate the chloride ions from the lithium ions. The chloride ions are oxidized, and the lithium ions are reduced. Saltwater naturally contains lithium chloride, which must be extracted in the form of lithium carbonate, then it is re-treated, separated into its ions, and reduced in the same electrolytic process as in extraction from lithium ores.

Only three saltwater lakes in the world are currently used for lithium extraction, in Nevada, Chile, and Argentina. Saltwater is channeled into shallow ponds and over a period of a year or more, water evaporates out to leave behind various salts.

Lime is used to remove the magnesium salt, so that the remaining solution contains a fairly concentrated amount of lithium chloride. The solution is then treated with sodium carbonate in order for usable lithium carbonate to precipitate out. Introduction Lithium was first identified as a component of of the mineral petalite and was discovered in by Johan August Arfwedson, but not isolated until some time later by W.

Properties Lithium is the lightest of all metals and is named from the Greek work for stone lithos. Table 1. Properties of lithium. Atomic Number 3 Atomic Mass 6. Periodic Trends of Lithium Being on the upper left side of the Periodic Table, lithium has a fairly low electronegativity and electron affinity as compared to the rest of the elements.

Reactivity Lithium is part of the Group 1 Alkali Metals , which are highly reactive and are never found in their pure form in nature. Applications In its mineral forms it accounts for only 0.