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Is Lithium Nitrate Soluble in Water?

Lithium nitrate (LiNO3) is an inorganic nitrate salt, produced industrially by the reaction of lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate with nitric acid. It has several uses, including as a heat exchange media, laboratory reagent and oxidizing agent.

Soluble in Water: Yes

The soluble form, lithium nitrate trihydrate, is deliquescent and has a melting point of 303.3 degrees centigrade (77 degrees Fahrenheit). It is a very efficient oxidizer when mixed with a combustible material and ignited, producing a red flame. It is used in special pyrotechnic devices, as a catalyst to accelerate the breakdown of nitrogen oxides, as a heat-exchange medium, and in a number of refrigeration systems.

A ternary system of lithium nitrate – ethanol and of ethanol – water has been studied in detail by Donnan and Burt (2). A congruently melting trihydrate and a hemihydrate of lithium nitrate were discovered in these experiments; however, no evidence for the existence of a solid alcoholate of lithium nitrate was obtained.

The solubility curves of the two substances can intersect a short distance from the lower-melting compound, which means that compound formation cannot occur unless it is very difficult to separate the substances into individual components. In the case of a system involving two dissimilar compounds, this is rarely the case.

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