Lithium Hydride
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lithium hydride
[′lith·ē·əm ′hī‚drīd] (inorganic chemistry)
LiH Flammable, brittle, white, translucent crystals; decomposes in water; insoluble in ether, benzene, and toluene; used as a hydrogen source and desiccant, and to prepare lithium amide and double hydrides.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Lithium Hydride
LiH; colorless crystals. Density, 0.776 g/cm3. It is the most stable of all the alkali and alkaline-earth metal hydrides. In a vacuum it melts at 680°-697°C, with virtually no decomposition; at higher temperatures it decomposes. It reacts vigorously with water: LiH + H2O = LiOH + H2. In industry it is prepared mainly by the hydrogenation of fused lithium with pure hydrogen at 680°-700°C. Lithium hydride is used for the direct and rapid production of hydrogen (1 kg LiH yields 2.8 m3 H2) and many metal hydrides and as a strong reducing agent in organic synthesis.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.