Lithium and Sulfur - Comparison - Properties

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

lithium and sulfur - comparison

Compare lithium with another element

Compare sulfur with another element

Lithium and Sulfur – 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.

Sulfur

Sulfur is abundant, multivalent, and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow crystalline solid at room temperature. Chemically, sulfur reacts with all elements except for gold, platinum, iridium, tellurium, and the noble gases.

Lithium in Periodic Table

Sulfur in Periodic Table

Source: www.luciteria.com

Lithium and Sulfur – 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.

Sulfur

The greatest commercial use of the element is the production of sulfuric acid for sulfate and phosphate fertilizers, and other chemical processes. Sulfur is increasingly used as a component of fertilizers. The most important form of sulfur for fertilizer is the mineral calcium sulfate. The element sulfur is used in matches, insecticides, and fungicides. Many sulfur compounds are odoriferous, and the smells of odorized natural gas, skunk scent, grapefruit, and garlic are due to organosulfur compounds.

Lithium and Sulfur – Comparison in Table

Element	Lithium	Sulfur
Density	0.535 g/cm3	1.96 g/cm3
Ultimate Tensile Strength	1.5 MPa	N/A
Yield Strength	N/A	N/A
Young’s Modulus of Elasticity	4.9 GPa	N/A
Mohs Scale	0.6	2
Brinell Hardness	5 MPa	N/A
Vickers Hardness	N/A	N/A
Melting Point	180.5 °C	112.8 °C
Boiling Point	1342 °C	444.7 °C
Thermal Conductivity	85 W/mK	0.269 W/mK
Thermal Expansion Coefficient	46 µm/mK	— µm/mK
Specific Heat	3.6 J/g K	0.71 J/g K
Heat of Fusion	3 kJ/mol	1.7175 kJ/mol
Heat of Vaporization	145.92 kJ/mol	45 kJ/mol