lithium chloride monohydrate is a water-soluble crystalline lithium source that is readily available in most volumes. It is commonly used as a precursor in the production of lithium metal and other lithium compounds. It is also used in welding, heat-treatment and soldering applications.
The chemistry of this compound is quite simple and it can be prepared by a wide range of methods. The most common procedure is to dissolve a lithium salt (such as lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate) in a solution of hydrochloric acid and then heating the resulting solution with anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas.
Among the many different uses for this compound, one of the most useful is in the field of electronic sensors. LiCl can be used to detect a variety of chemical and physical phenomena such as changes in temperature, oxygen or nitrogen content in a sample, or the presence of foreign particles or materials.
Another useful application for this compound is in the production of batteries. It can be reacted with nickel chloride to produce lithium-nickel hydrides and then electrolyzed to lithium-nickel oxide (LiNO3).
Another interesting property of this compound is its optical properties, which are of course the subject of much study. This substance is an excellent semiconductor for nonlinear optics and is a very good candidate for a variety of high-performance devices. For example, it can be used as a phosphorescent material in LEDs or as an organic semiconductor in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) instruments.