> chemistry > oxydants > making-lithium-peroxide-nilered

Making Lithium Peroxide

NileRed - 2016-08-12

Note: my dehydration equation of the lithium hydroperoxide is wrong! I think the "reaction" is actually Li2O2-2H2O-H2O2, just giving off water and oxygen (from h2o2 decomposition) .

Hey guys, today we make some lithium peroxide using lithium hydroxide from a previous video. 

Lithium hydroxide: https://youtu.be/9c4BjVIgK1k
Patent Procedure: https://www.google.com/patents/US3446588

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@kakkilakoomi9433 - 2016-08-12

April Fools video: How to produce Dihydrogen Monoxide

@sorsorscience0787 - 2016-08-13

lol

@spookywizard4980 - 2016-08-14

burn hydrogen, easy

@sorsorscience0787 - 2016-08-14

+Spooky Wizard nk burn hyrdroxygen

@ThinkingBetter - 2018-10-18

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hIND_ZUZ8jo

@bloodyricho1 - 2018-11-18

Melt solid hydric acid

@penguiin12 - 2016-08-12

also "scoopula" lol

@spiderdude2099 - 2018-10-13

That's literally what they're called, he didn't make that up

@jhyland87 - 2020-12-18

Thats kinda what they're called - however i did think it sounded kinda funny at first too, lol.

@scifactorial5802 - 2016-08-22

Here's a drinking game: every time Nile says "things" take a shot.

No hard feelings, keep up the great videos!

@NileRed - 2016-09-11

ha, I say it a lot? I never noticed

@ChristmasEve777 - 2018-05-31

I just replayed it, skipping around and I kept hearing "mix things up" :)

@sleepful1917 - 2021-01-17

^ mix things up is a classic one hahahaha

@OmegaMolecule - 2016-08-12

Thank you for insight on this chemical. I am building a 1 atmosphere submarine and this was on the list for suitable atmospheric scrubbing agents.

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

You're building a submarine? Sounds interesting

@KingOSquids - 2016-08-12

Will you be documenting the building, I think that would be interesting to watch

@OmegaMolecule - 2016-08-12

Yes I will. This has been in the works for a couple years now. I am in the process of negotiating with the local steel company for materials and finding local machinists that I can work with on some of the components.

@KingOSquids - 2016-08-12

+OmegaMolecule Wow good luck man, I look forward to seeing it!

@theCodyReeder - 2016-10-10

why not use sodium hydroxide? Or Lime? much cheaper.

@brianreddeman951 - 2016-08-12

Nile as always has some of the most professional presentations on the web.

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

Thanks!

@crunchblack1889 - 2016-08-16

Damn! It's good to find guys on YouTube who know their shit and know the difference between sodium chloride and sodium chlorate. Thanks for another splendiferous video Nile red.

@dries2965 - 2016-08-12

I've come across a great book recently, Ignition! by John D. Clark. It talks about the history and chemistry of liquid rocket propellants. I think the book is in public domain now. This video reminded me of it cause there is a section on how hydrogen peroxide was used as an oxidant, before moving on to nitric acid based oxidisers. "Peroxide — Always a Bridesmaid"

@InfinityOver0 - 2022-05-07

Wow he made a video on this, nice!

@davs01 - 2016-08-12

I love your videos man, keep up with the chemistry

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

Thanks!

@serraramayfield9230 - 2016-08-12

There is an audio glitch @8:11

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

Serrara Fluttershy I have no idea why that happens, haha. I have re-rendered the file a few times now. It isn't in the project file...it is a ghost

@serraramayfield9230 - 2016-08-12

NileRed Weird :P

@RodrigoPereira-nq3je - 2016-08-12

+Serrara Fluttershy True.

@stenmarcusmalva5153 - 2016-08-12

Hi Nile! You said in one of your previous videos that you're trying to make white phosphorus from red phosphorus. When will the video be uploaded if uploaded?
Thank you for all the awesome videos.

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

I am really not sure. I haven't even filmed it yet

@sujathasubramanian7853 - 2020-10-16

"Nothing much happened"...

Bursts into flames the next second

@RodrigoPereira-nq3je - 2016-08-12

Make more videos that people can try at home without "hard to find" chemicals. Love your vids gj.

@theBarackobama - 2023-06-05

@ 2:19 he becomes a rap God for like one sentence spittin 🔥

@sphinx1659 - 2016-11-06

SCOOPULA😂😂😂

@spiderdude2099 - 2020-06-09

Sphinx that’s literally what that piece of equipment is called. He did not make that up.

@spookywizard4980 - 2016-08-14

How does the test solution prove you have lithium peroxide and not the precursor lithium hydrogen peroxide?

@jamez6398 - 2016-08-12

Even when you're burning it, it doesn't explode. It's pretty stable for a peroxide.

@EarlofDestruction - 2016-08-12

I wonder if lithium hydroperoxide works as an air scrubber too

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

I am honestly not sure. I couldn't find much information on it

@Mattes_______ - 2016-08-12

Great video! but isn't the formula at 3:22 wrong? 2 hydrogens on the left side and 6 on the right one?

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

It is kind of terrible that I wrote it that way. Lithium hydroperoxide is also known as Li2O2·H2O2·2H2O, or lithium peroxide monoperoxyhydrate. I am not sure about why it is written as both Li2O2·H2O2·2H2O and LiOOH. I am honestly a little confused on that myself. I included that equation because it was simpler, but it is definitely not balanced at all.

@ashW110 - 2016-08-13

Hi Nile, very well prepared video, and a beautiful chemistry. After watching your video I can clearly see that I've made a few mistakes in my video when I was making LiOOH and Li2O2. You've mentioned the patent you were following for this processes, well done on finding one. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the patent so I had to follow the information provided by Wikipedia and as you probably know there are not always enough details. Looking forward to your video where you synthesize benzaldehyde, really good idea knowing all the interesting properties and uses in industry, especially in the agriculture. I believe the process will noticeably increase your electricity bill :)

@VipersHeart - 2016-08-12

i love these tests they realy show what can be done with all the great chemical composition

@maximshevchenko9053 - 2021-02-05

The test with iodine hardly proves that the product is Li2O2, it proves that it contains some Li2O2, but who knows how much? Maybe just 1%?
Also strange is the reaction when Li2O2 decomposes to LiOH and O2 when added to hot water. Wasn't it once formed from the hot water solution - how it survived that originally?

@harrywoodman2988 - 2018-10-13

NileRed, your love of chemistry is admirable. That being said there are a few things off with your preparation. First, you are adding base to acid, hydrogen peroxide is a relatively weak acid with a pKa of about 11.6 on the DMSO scale, you can find a handy print out compliments of David Evans http://evans.rc.fas.harvard.edu/pdf/evans_pKa_table.pdf . Reason is if you add base to excess acid you will get a very exothermic reaction that can take off on you in an uncontrolled reaction. Since you have a concentrated solution of peroxide which is known to readily disproportionate back to O2 and H2O you have a formal for expanding gas explosion. Not what you want.

Second, the Iodide to Iodine reaction is not specific to lithium peroxide but to peroxides in general. The point being that LiOH readily reacts with CO2 in the air. If your LiOH was not sealed well or particularly pure you could have significant amounts of (Li)xCO3(H)y where x and y are numerical values between 0 and 2. When you buy commercial LiOH it usually indicates the initial quantity of carbonates already present, it can be significant. So you might actually have a carbonic peroxide (probably HOC=OO2Li in short hand formula) instead of the LiO2H or more likely a mixture.

Finally, as an absolute rule of safety, never never never touch a solid peroxide with METAL such as your spatula!!!!! It is well known that metal is a catalyst for the decomposition of peroxides which can be explosive! Use glass, ceramic or plastic but absolutely not your metal scoupula or spatula, especially if they have any rust! If you ever play with MCPBA in the future which I suspect you will, this can make the difference in losing a hand or eye plus bad chemical burns. Something to be avoided at all costs!

@kylesenior - 2016-08-12

Do you think you might have gotten better yields if you kept the temperature down better?

@user255 - 2016-08-12

+NileRed
The heating with vacuum part may not be complete in that way. Unless you crushed the lumps and mixed it few times during the heating. That is due poor heat conduction in the powder.

@CelticSaint - 2016-08-14

Could you extract the Iron, from Iron rich breakfast cereals?

@twitchingdan - 2016-10-07

Steve Spanfler did this, there's not much iron.

@Osmone_Everony - 2022-01-16

5:41 How about you shake the test tube so the Lithium peroxide has a greater chance of reacting with the CO2?

@valcon05 - 2024-05-30

Out of curiosity, how much lithium do you think could realistically be recovered through recycling the spent batteries?

@cfnorg - 2016-08-12

when you have 100% CO2 and you use it all up and get 50% O2 from it, what is the other 50%?

@NileRed - 2016-08-12

I guess nothing. You should form a partial vacuum.

@KallePihlajasaari - 2018-07-14

Room air will fill the missing volume of gas when you open the cork, or it will leak in if the cork is not tight. This will give a low O2 reading because you have added 40% N2 and only 10% O2 giving a 60% O2 mix in the tube.

@EmmaHopman - 2018-10-17

@@NileRed if the atmosphere pressure this reaction takes place in decreases, would it take more activation energy for the reaction to take place, because it would then be using energy to create a vacuum.

@unknowniitian. - 2017-10-12

I want to know that what will happen if we react carbon dioxide having temperature about 200°c with lithium peroxide. Will it form same product? And wether the reaction will be vigrous(exothermic)or not
........ PLEASE HELP

@agradman - 2017-07-04

Possible error? The equation at 2:57 isn't balanced, and it differs from the equation in the patent (see: "...and an endothermic stage..."). I'm not confident in my chemistry knowledge so excuse me if I'm mistaken

@garjodavidson4495 - 2016-08-12

Great video once again!
Your channel is worth subscribing, keep the good work!

@rajeshshahi1000 - 2016-08-17

Nile red is a molecule!you named your channel after it.

@higgins2922 - 2016-11-14

Genius

@guythat779 - 2019-05-10

I reacted lithium from a battery with water to get LiOH

When i added H2O2 it got yellow

I think i Got lots of lithium hydroxide

@fpuGermany - 2016-08-17

The equation on 3:02 is wrong. It should be the same just without water on the left side.

@markharder3676 - 2017-09-30

You can add sodium peroxide to ice water to make hydrogen peroxide, which can be very concentrated when the Na2O2 to H2O ratio is high. Does this work with lithium peroxide? You perform this experiment but at higher temperature, so that might be the H2O2 breaking down and liberating O2 at the higher temperature? Or is it? Curious minds want to know.

@sasquatchbushcraft - 2016-10-14

it might just be me, but wasnt the test for oxygen gas a little skewed? since you added the carbon dioxide gas first, then removed the stopper, and dumped in the powder. it would seem like that could let in enough oxygen from the normal air. just my thoughts, anyone who knows chemistry labs and procedures have any thoughts?

@rogerxd45 - 2017-02-18

that was my thought exactly,

@noreason2701 - 2017-08-15

William Farrow co2 weighs more than air so very little would get in

@bradywells1293 - 2017-10-07

maybe add a known non-CO2 scrubber to the blank in similar manner/amount to simulate the process of opening up the tube and dropping powder in?

@supermonkeyballdude - 2018-06-04

I'm guessing it's Li2O2 because for it to be a peroxide it has to be an O2 2- which makes it a peroxide when doing oxidation numbers

@thedon7625 - 2020-07-12

Makes lithium peroxide with lithium hydroxide 7:12 “Here’s how you convert it back to the hydroxide”

@RadioactivePretzels - 2016-12-07

Why use an heated oil bath instead of a simple heating mantle? To precisely control the temperature?

@interstellarsurfer - 2017-05-17

Accurately measuring the temperature of a large mass of hot oil is much more easily done than measuring the temperature of a few grams of powder. Besides, it has a rather low melting point, and who really loves cleaning glassware?

@sujathasubramanian7853 - 2020-10-16

I thought NileBlue was a ripoff, until I realized it was the same dude.

@TheKnaeckebrot - 2016-08-24

Hey nile, would the reaction with CO2 to O2 pull a vacuum & couldn't one use that as an indication of the oxygen production? (CO2 consumption)

@KallePihlajasaari - 2018-07-14

That is a very good idea. Use a U-tube in the cork immersed in water and see if it sucks a bit.

@n0x3n - 2023-02-07

How much different would this reaction be using lithium carbonate instead?

@antejl7925 - 2023-06-24

Lithium hydroperoxide mixed with tooth paste makes a good tooth bleach.

@Metaphix - 2018-06-19

I knew you could patent compounds but i didnt know you can patent methods

@apostle333 - 2016-09-14

don't you also need a catalyst in with the Li2o2, to produce sufficient o2 gas? I'm not sure but I think I remember something about maybe Mno2?

@Huntito - 2016-08-20

Sorry if you've answered this before, but what camera and mic setup do you use to make your videos? The quality is great!

@rabinmr7316 - 2021-06-28

My school books says lithum peroxide and superoxide not exist

@ronaldshepard4625 - 2018-09-28

Is that what they use in portable oxygen concentrators? Or is it something that filters out nitrogen that is used?

@spiderdude2099 - 2020-06-09

Weird question but could lithium or sodium peroxide be reacted with an acid like maybe benzoic acid to make a benzoate salt and extremely concentrated hydrogen peroxide?

@malmriv - 2016-08-13

Are you making an effort to improve your diction, or did you buy new recording equipment? I'm not a native speaker and I noticed that you talk more clearly in this video for some reason.