Description

• General description: Lithium hydroxide monohydrate is a white-to-colorless, crystalline salt. The monohydrate is hygroscopic. It is soluble in water and generates heat when dissolving. It is also soluble in methanol, somewhat soluble in ethanol, but only sparingly soluble in isopropanol. Lithium hydroxide is produced in several ways. Most commonly, lithium carbonate is reacted with calcium hydroxide in a metathesis reaction. This directly yields lithium hydroxide hydrate, which is separated from the insoluble calcium carbonate byproduct and purified. Alternatively, when the source of lithium is spodumene ore, the ore can be converted to lithium hydroxide without first forming the carbonate. In the process, the lithium ore is treated with high-temperatures and sulfuric acid to form lithium sulfate; then the lithium sulfate is reacted with sodium hydroxide to form lithium hydroxide hydrate, which is purified.
• Application: The primary application of battery-grade lithium hydroxide is in the synthesis and manufacturing of cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In particular, lithium hydroxide is the reagent of choice for making nickel-rich cathodes like nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) and nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide (NCA)[1][2]. For these materials, the nickel-rich precursors must be fired in oxygen at relatively low temperatures (~500 °C) in order to promote higher oxidation states of nickel while suppressing cation mixing. Lithium hydroxide, which melts at 462 °C, is preferred because it melts at these temperatures, yielding more complete reactions and superior crystallinity, than reactions using lithium carbonate. Lithium carbonate, which melts at 723 °C, is still a solid at these temperatures. Our battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate is well-suited for synthesis of nickel-rich metal oxides, like lithium nickel-manganese-aluminum oxide (NMA)[3] and complex quaternary transition metal oxides like Zr-doped or Ti-doped nickel-manganese oxide[4]. Our lithium hydroxide monohydrate can also be used to synthesize lithium iron phosphates like LiFePO4[5] or lithium manganese oxides like Li2Mn2O4.[6]