Lithium
History of Lithium
In 1800, Petalite (lithium aluminum silicate) was first discovered by the Brazilian scientist José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva. But it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson, working together with Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discovered the presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore. Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name "lithos", from Greek (lithos, "stone"), to reflect its discovery in a mineral; its name was later standardized as "lithium".
Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite. In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color in flame. However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the element from its salts. The element was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande isolated the element by performing electrolysis on lithium oxide. In 1855, larger quantities of the metal were produced through electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen. The discovery of this procedure eventually led to commercial production of lithium metal, begun in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG through the electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
Lithium is a widely distributed mineral on Earth but does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity. It forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources. At 0.00002 kg lithium per kg of Earth's crust, lithium is the 25th most abundant element. Nickel and lead have the about the same abundance. Lithium can also be found in brine deposits and hectorite clay.
Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite. In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color in flame. However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate the element from its salts. The element was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande isolated the element by performing electrolysis on lithium oxide. In 1855, larger quantities of the metal were produced through electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen. The discovery of this procedure eventually led to commercial production of lithium metal, begun in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG through the electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
Lithium is a widely distributed mineral on Earth but does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity. It forms a minor part of igneous rocks, with the largest concentrations in granites. Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources. At 0.00002 kg lithium per kg of Earth's crust, lithium is the 25th most abundant element. Nickel and lead have the about the same abundance. Lithium can also be found in brine deposits and hectorite clay.