Lithium oxalate is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with the chemical formula . It is a salt of

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

metal and

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula , also written as or or . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name i ...

. It consists of lithium

cations An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and

oxalate Oxalate (systematic IUPAC name: ethanedioate) is an anion with the chemical formula . This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate (), and several esters such as ...

anions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

. Lithium oxalate is soluble in water and converts to

lithium oxide Lithium oxide (Lithium, Oxygen, O) or lithia is an Inorganic compound, inorganic chemical compound. It is a white or pale yellow solid. Although not specifically important, many materials are assessed on the basis of their Li2O content. For examp ...

when heated.

Synthesis

One of the methods of synthesis is the reaction of direct neutralization of

with

lithium hydroxide Lithium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH. It can exist as anhydrous or hydrated, and both forms are white hygroscopic solids. They are soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol. Both are available commercially. While ...

: :

Properties

The compound crystallizes in the

monoclinic system In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the seven crystal systems. A crystal system is described by three vectors. In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal lengths, as in the orthorhombic sys ...

, cell parameters ''a'' = 3.400 Å, ''b'' = 5.156 Å, ''c'' = 9.055 Å, ''β'' = 95.60°, ''Z'' = 4. Lithium oxalate decomposes when heated at : :

Applications

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...

, the compound is used to color the flame red.

References

{{Oxalates Inorganic compounds Lithium salts Oxalates