can anyone explain to me why LiCO3 is NOT a lithium compound? and what exactly is needed for lithium compounds?? thanks!
Li is in group I; therefore, it has 1 electron in its outside shell and can give it away to a receptor, such as chlorine, bromine etc to make LiCl or LiBr. But when making lithium carbonate, it needs to give away TWO electrons because carbonate takes TWO electrons. Thus TWO Li atoms can give away 1e each and the correct formula for lithium carbonate is Li2CO3.
thank you!!!
To understand why LiCO3 is not considered a lithium compound, we first need to understand what defines a compound as a lithium compound.
A lithium compound is any chemical compound that contains lithium as one of its elements. Lithium is a metal that belongs to the alkali metal group in the periodic table. It is highly reactive and readily forms compounds with other elements.
Now, let's look at LiCO3, which is lithium carbonate. Although it contains the element lithium, it is not commonly referred to as a lithium compound because it is more commonly known as a carbonate compound. The prefix "Li" in LiCO3 simply indicates the presence of lithium in the compound's chemical formula.
Lithium compounds are typically those in which lithium is the primary metal constituent and is responsible for the compound's distinctive properties. For example, lithium hydroxide (LiOH), lithium chloride (LiCl), and lithium oxide (Li2O) are considered lithium compounds because lithium is the central element linking the various other elements in the compounds.
In summary, while LiCO3 contains lithium, it is more commonly referred to as a carbonate compound rather than a lithium compound because its distinctive properties are mainly associated with the carbonate group rather than the presence of lithium. Lithium compounds are typically those in which lithium is the primary metal constituent, displaying unique properties associated with lithium itself.