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Posted

Why can't you buy the K from Aldrich or Fisher or some supplier like that?

They'll sell you a big ol' jug of chunks in oil.

There must be some kind of restrictions I guess, on who they sell to.

But I would try calling them up, or registering on their website and creating an account. Make sure that you are "representing an organization" and intend to use the products for research purposes only. It's definitely a Haz-Mat, but I don't see why they wouldn't sell it to you. Maybe I'm naive in such matters.

Posted

haha. aldrich sells beakers for $350+. no joke either. i have seen beakers as "cheap" as $15 on their site however. also, they will not sell me chemicals, for i am but an aspiring chemist without a degree or a proper lab. oh well

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

I would just like to back up what apathy has stated as it answers the question. Some people might be a bit confused by the terminology.

 

Now of course if you place some lithium in water, it will not have as violent a reaction as sodium which will be less than potassium and so on to cesium having an extremely violent reaction in water. This is due to that electron being "ripped off" of off the cesium. That being so because cesium has the lowest first ionization energy, making it the easiest to lose that electron.

 

Lithium on the other hand is the strongest reducer (as far as elements go). That is why it is topping those reduction potential lists. If you want an extremely strong reducing agent, then you go to LiAlH4 - and there is your lithium.

 

And so because lithium is a stronger reducing agent than potassium, a reaction such as Li + KNO3 --> LiNO3 + K (as shown in the experiment done by David Hahn) will in fact work.

 

I hope this has helped a bit to explain.

Posted

another reason for the more violent reaction of cesium in water and acids is that cesium forms a bond with OH- that has a formation energy (at 25C) of 91+ or - 3 cal/mol^-1 and lithium forms a bond with OH that requires 102 + or - 5 cal/mol^-1.

Posted

well I`ve been informed that sodium will also make a nitride and so will potassium even easier! than lithium will, and with much less energy involved :)

 

 

as for a reducing agent, sodium amalgam will kick ass outa your Lithium Aluminium Hydride ;P

Posted

anyone got any pirhanas.... give em to yt.... he'll deal with em!!!

 

[note to yt, please record it for me!!!] on a camera, and dont douse the camera in any of the chems!

 

actually, wouldnt it destroy the bath as well as the pirhanas, and the floor/floor-boards, and wouldnt it keep going for a bit, i think u might have a problem next time u want a bath after that!

Posted

eh? i suppose the first two paragraphs i wasn't meant to know anything about. as for the third, was i not supposed to understand that either? there are no pirhanas...

Posted
I would just like to back up what apathy has stated as it answers the question. Some people might be a bit confused by the terminology.

 

Now of course if you place some lithium in water' date=' it will not have as violent a reaction as sodium which will be less than potassium and so on to cesium having an extremely violent reaction in water. This is due to that electron being "ripped off" of off the cesium. That being so because cesium has the lowest first ionization energy, making it the easiest to lose that electron.

 

Lithium on the other hand is the strongest reducer (as far as elements go). That is why it is topping those reduction potential lists. If you want an extremely strong reducing agent, then you go to LiAlH4 - and there is your lithium.

 

And so because lithium is a stronger reducing agent than potassium, a reaction such as Li + KNO3 --> LiNO3 + K (as shown in the experiment done by David Hahn) will in fact work.

 

I hope this has helped a bit to explain.[/quote']

 

 

Well, in lithium aluminum hydride the reducing agent is AlH4- and lithium is just the counterion.

 

well I`ve been informed that sodium will also make a nitride and so will potassium even easier! than lithium will' date=' and with much less energy involved :)

 

 

as for a reducing agent, sodium amalgam will kick ass outa your Lithium Aluminium Hydride ;P[/quote']

 

Yeah, any alkali metal will beat any metal hydride that I can think of.

NaK alloy can be pretty ugly since it's a liquid at room temp, it can go spilling everywhere looking to start a fire.

Posted

The point remains - it is a matter of simple reduction potentials. If one reacts Li with KNO3, the Li will reduce the K cation to K metal while the lithium metal becomes oxidized.

Posted

come now, i thought this was over! next time i obtain some lithium metal i'll record a video of me reacting it with KCl, then add the K metal to H2O and show you the purple flame.

Posted
incorrect.

 

I've given an explanation. Would you care to give one too please?

Posted

A list of metals arranged in order of their electrode potentials.

 

A metal will displace, from their salts, metals lower down in the series.

 

 

 

Lithium

 

Potassium

 

Calcium

 

Sodium

 

Magnesium

 

Aluminum

 

Zinc

 

Iron

 

Cobalt

 

Nickel

 

Tin

 

Lead

 

----------------

 

Hydrogen

 

----------------

 

Copper

 

Mercury

 

Silver

 

Platinum

 

Gold

Posted

but do you Beleive that?

 

I guess the only thing left to do, is try it, crystalise it out and examine the crystals.

 

I`ve done it, but withold the data until someone else does it, we`ll compare notes afterwards, I can`t say fairer than that, well let experimentation be our judge :)

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