Hydrolysis Studies of Polycrystalline Lithium Hydride

Abstract

Polycrystalline LiH was reacted with decarbonated H2O to determine reaction products, rates, mechanisms, and the effects of experimental parameters. Rutherford backscattering analyses for measurement of elemental concentrations showed that product O growth rates showed an initial rise and then increased linearly with H2O exposure time. Increasing H2O concentration increased O growth rate while both increasing temperature and pressure decreased O growth rates. A thin-layer, diffusion-controlled reaction rate is suggested to explain the results, and a growth process for LiOH is illustrated. Micrographs of polycrystalline LiH show a two-phase bulk material and a surface hydrolysis layer with cracks.