Lithium and Sodium - Comparison - Properties

This article contains comparison of key thermal and atomic properties of lithium and sodium, two comparable chemical elements from the periodic table. It also contains basic descriptions and applications of both elements. Lithium vs Sodium.

lithium and sodium - comparison

Compare lithium with another element

Compare sodium with another element

Lithium and Sodium – About Elements

Lithium

It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and is stored in mineral oil.

Sodium

Sodium is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table, because it has a single electron in its outer shell that it readily donates, creating a positively charged atom—the Na+ cation.

Lithium in Periodic Table

Sodium in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Lithium and Sodium – Applications

Lithium

Lithium has many applications, from lubricating grease, alloying additions in particular for aluminium and magnesium alloys, to glazes for ceramics, and finally, lithium batteries. In particular, lithium is and will continue to play an increasingly important role in the battery-powered clean air future. Lithium batteries are widely used in portable consumer electronic devices, and in electric vehicles ranging from full sized vehicles to radio controlled toys. The term “lithium battery” refers to a family of different lithium-metal chemistries, comprising many types of cathodes and electrolytes but all with metallic lithium as the anode.

Sodium

Metallic sodium is used mainly for the production of sodium borohydride, sodium azide, indigo, and triphenylphosphine. A once-common use was the making of tetraethyllead and titanium metal; because of the move away from TEL and new titanium production methods. An electric current and sodium vapor combine to form a yellowish glow. This principle is used for the making of sodium vapor lamps. Sodium is occasionally used as a heat exchange medium in nuclear power plants. Liquid sodium is sealed into pipes surrounding the reactor core. Generated heat is absorbed by sodium and forced through the pipes in a heat exchanger which can be used to generate electricity.

Lithium and Sodium – Comparison in Table

Element	Lithium	Sodium
Density	0.535 g/cm3	0.968 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	1.5 MPa	N/A
Yield Strength	N/A	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	4.9 GPa	10 GPa
Mohs Scale	0.6	0.4
Brinell Hardness	5 MPa	0.69 MPa
Vickers Hardness	N/A	N/A
Melting Point	180.5 °C	97.8 °C
Boiling Point	1342 °C	883 °C
Thermal Conductivity	85 W/mK	141 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	46 µm/mK	71 µm/mK
Specific Heat	3.6 J/g K	1.23 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	3 kJ/mol	2.59 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	145.92 kJ/mol	96.96 kJ/mol