13 Facts On HCl +Li: What, How To Balance, And FAQ

Lithium is dense metal and can react with various acids like Hydrochloric acid. Let us look into a few facts about when Hydrochloric acid reacts with Lithium.

Hydrochloric acid is also known as the “spirit of salts” as it completely dissociates in an aqueous solution. Lithium is an alkali metal present in group 1A in the s-block of the periodic table. Alkali metals are highly reactive as they can readily release electrons and participate in many chemical reactions.

In the following session, we will explore the type of chemical reaction that occurs between HCl and Li along with a few more properties like conjugate pairs, intermolecular forces, enthalpy of reaction, etc.

What Is The Product Of HCl and Li  

Hydrochloric acid reacts with Li-metal to form Lithium chloride with the release of Hydrogen gas. The chemical equation is given below.

  • HCl (l) + Li (s) =  LiCl (aq) + H2 (g)

What Type Of Reaction Is HCl + Li

The reaction of HCl and Li is an example of a single displacement reaction. As the reaction occurs between a metal i.e. Li and a strong acid i.e. HCl it can also be called a metal-acid reaction.

How To Balance HCl + Li

To balance this equation, we need to follow the given steps. 

Step 1: The number of atoms present in the reactant and product to be written.

  • In reactant 1H, 1Cl and 1 Li atoms are present
  • In product 2H, 1Li and 1 Cl atoms are present

Step-2 Balanced the number of atoms of the reactant with the product.

  • Equate the coefficients of atoms in reactants and products by multiplying suitable numbers.
  • To balance the number of H atoms in the reactant and product, multiply 2 with H-atom present in the reactant, i.e., 2×HCl then H-atoms in the reactant, i.e., 2HCl +Li = LiCl + H2
  • To balance the Cl-atom in the reactant and product, multiply 2 with Cl-atom in the product, which is 2×LiCl. Thus the equation will be 2HCl +Li = 2LiCl + H2
  • To balance the Li-atom in the reactant and product, multiply 2 with Li-atom in the reactant.

Step-3 The final balanced chemical equation will be written as:

  • 2HCl +2Li = 2LiCl+ H2

HCl + Li Titration

The titration of HCl with Li is generally avoided as in aqueous solution HCl act as an oxidising agent and does not change the medium into acidic so the titration of HCl with Li-atom could not be carried out Metal atoms like Li can participate in complex-formation titration along with reagents like edetic acid not with hydrochloric acid.

HCl + Li Net Ionic Equation

The net ionic equation HCl+ Li is 2H+(aq)+ Li (s) = 2Li+(aq)+ H2 (g) . It can be written with the following steps

  • First, we have to write the balanced chemical equation with the physical states of each molecule i.e. 2HCl (l) + 2Li (s)  =  2 LiCl(aq) + H2 (g)
  • Then write the soluble molecules in ionic form i.e.  

2H+(aq)+ 2Cl (aq) + Li (s) =  2Li+aq)+ 2Cl (aq) + H2 (g)

  •  In the final step, the net ionic equation can be obtained by cancelling all the spectator ions.

2H+(aq)+ Li (s) = 2Li+(aq)+ H2 (g)

HCl + Li Conjugate Pairs

Lithium is a neutral metal element so it can not form conjugate pairs. Hydrochloric acid is a strong acid and forms its conjugate base Cl ion or chloride ion with the removal of one proton. Only acidic or basic substances can form their conjugate acid-base pair with the removal or addition of a proton.

HCl And Li Intermolecular Forces

The dipole-dipole intermolecular force of attraction exists between the H-Cl bond of the HCl molecule due to the greater electronegativity of chlorine than the H-atom. Vander Waal’s force of attraction also exists in HCl molecules due to its polar nature.

Is HCl + Li A Buffer Solution

The reaction of HCl with Li-atom does not form a buffer solution because here HCl is a strong acid and Li is not a salt of its conjugate base. A buffer solution will form when a weak acid forms a solution with the salt of its conjugate base.

Is HCl + Li A Complete Reaction

The reaction between HCl and Li atom is a complete reaction because it involves the formation of two complete products that are highly stable neutral salt of Lithium chloride and H2 gas.

Is HCl + Li An Exothermic & Endothermic Reaction

The reaction between HCl and Li atom is an exothermic reaction because during the reaction along with the release of hydrogen gas lot of heat energy will also release.

Is HCl + Li A Redox Reaction

The reaction of Li with HCl is a redox reaction as during the chemical reaction simultaneous increase and decrease of oxidation number takes place. Here Li is oxidized with an increase in oxidation number from Li0 to Li+1, similarly, Hydrogen is reduced with a decrease in oxidation state from H+1 to H0.

Is HCl + Li A Precipitation Reaction

The reaction between HCl and Li is not a precipitation reaction as the product formed during the chemical reaction i.e., LiCl is a neutral salt that is highly soluble in water and acetone. Thus, it doesn’t form any precipitate during the reaction.

Is HCl + Li Reversible or Irreversible Reaction

The chemical reaction between HCl and Li metal is an irreversible reaction as it proceeds only in one direction with forming LiCl salt. If we again make the products react with each other, the reactants cannot be restored as the H2 gas formed during the reaction will disappear from the reaction vessel.

Is HCl + Li Displacement Reaction

The chemical reaction between HCl and Li is a single displacement reaction as it involves the replacement of only one chemical species during the reaction i.e. Li displaces the Hydrogen atom of HCl during the reaction and forms LiCl2 with the release of Hydrogen gas.

Conclusion

Alkali metals like Li are highly reactive and readily react with acids like HCl to form the neutral LiCl salt. LiCl is used as Brazing flux in automobile parts, it is also used as a desiccant in the air stream. Along with this industrial application, LiCl has many biochemical applications such as it is used to precipitate RNA from cell extract.