Lithium azide

Lithium azide

Names
IUPAC name lithium azide
Identifiers
CAS Number	19597-69-4
ChemSpider	79536
Jmol interactive 3D	Image
PubChem	88163
InChI InChI=1S/Li.N3/c;1-3-2/q+1;-1
SMILES [Li+].[N-]=[N+]=[N-]
Properties
Chemical formula	LiN3
Molar mass	48.96 g·mol^−1
Melting point	115 °C (239 °F; 388 K)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references

Lithium azide unit cell^[1]

Lithium azide is the lithium salt of hydrazoic acid. It is an unstable and toxic compound that decomposes into lithium and nitrogen when heated.

Preparation

It can be prepared by metathesis reaction between sodium azide and lithium nitrate:

NaN₃ + LiNO₃ → LiN₃ + NaNO₃

or lithium sulfate solutions:

2 NaN₃ + Li₂SO₄ → 2 LiN₃ + Na₂SO₄^[2]

Notes

1. Pringle, G. E.; Noakes, D. E. (February 1968). "The crystal structures of lithium, sodium and strontium azides". Acta Crystallogr. B 24 (2): 262–269. doi:10.1107/S0567740868002062.
2. http://www.lambdasyn.org/synfiles/lithiumazid.htm

References

• Hofman-Bang, Niels (1957). "Preparation of Lithium Azide". Acta Chemica Scandinavica 11: 581. doi:10.3891/acta.chem.scand.11-0581.
• Younk, Edward H.; Kunz, A. Barry (1997). "An ab initio investigation of the electronic structure of lithium azide (LiN₃), sodium azide (NaN₃), and lead azide [Pb(N₃)₂]". International Journal of Quantum Chemistry 63 (3): 615. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-461X(1997)63:3<615::AID-QUA2>3.0.CO;2-Z.
• Gordienko, A.B.; Poplavnoi, A.S. (1997). "The Application of ab-initio Linear Combination of Pseudo-Atomic-Orbital Scheme for the Electronic Structure of Lithium Azide LiN₃". Physica status solidi (b) 202 (2): 941. doi:10.1002/1521-3951(199708)202:2<941::AID-PSSB941>3.0.CO;2-K.
• Zhu, W; Xiao, J; Xiao, H (2006). "Density functional theory study of the structural and optical properties of lithium azide". Chemical Physics Letters 422: 117. doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2006.02.017.