Lithium Chloride - Uses

Uses

Lithium chloride is mainly used for the production of lithium metal by electrolysis of a LiCl/KCl melt at 600 °C. LiCl is also used as a brazing flux for aluminium in automobile parts. It is used as a desiccant for drying air streams. In more specialized applications, lithium chloride finds some use in organic synthesis, e.g. as an additive in the Stille reaction. Also, in biochemical applications, it can be used to precipitate RNA from cellular extracts.

Lithium chloride is also used as a flame colorant to produce dark red flames.

Lithium chloride is used as a relative humidity standard in the calibration of hygrometers. At 25C a saturated solution (45.81%) of the salt will yield an equilibrium relative humidity of 11.30%. Additionally, lithium chloride can itself be used as a hygrometer. This deliquescent salt forms a self solution when exposed to air. The equilibrium LiCl concentration in the resulting solution is directly related to the relative humidity of the air. The relative humidity at 25C, with minimal error in the range 10C to 30C, in percent, can be estimated from the following first order equation: RH=107.93-2.11C, where C is solution LiCl concentration, percent by mass.