> chemistry > métaux-alcalins > nurd-rage-lab-notes-making-sodium-metal > lab-notes-trying-to-make-lithium-and-failing-nurdrage

Lab Notes: Back from vacation, and trying to make lithium (and failing) - March 27th 2019

NurdRage - 2019-03-28

So i've been trying to make lithium in a similar way to making sodium as shown in previous videos. But lithium synthesis appears to be very slow. Fortunately, this proves that all our previous samples of sodium that was made using lithium is probably very pure since lithium cannot be made under the same conditions.



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#sodium #Lithium

Sabata - 2019-03-28

Ah, Borderlands 2. I see you are a person of culture.

NurdRage - 2019-03-28

When either Cyberpunk 2077 or Borderlands 3 is released, on that day i'll vanish from the face the earth for a few months. Do not look for me, you will not find me. ;)

AhKeelU - 2019-04-06

What about BL the pre-sequel? I love that game, not as good as 2 but still good.

Vladax - 2019-04-07

Perhaps the best catalyst would be fenhol.

MDavH 25 - 2019-04-08

WIll using a higher concentration of catalyst help for lithium production?

Dick Grayson - 2019-04-12

@ElZamo92 oof

Pluscrafter - 2019-05-02

13.09.2019

fake name - 2019-03-28

welcome back, and no need to apologise mate! you did some amazing work for the amateur community, and you gotta take care of yourself too. If you need a break, take one - it's far better than getting burned out with your work.

ElZamo92 - 2019-03-28

Borderlands 2 and Nurd Rage? Two of my favourite things!

Tyler F - 2019-03-28

A chemist playing elemental maya, I wonder if those two are linked.

Rosetta Stephens - 2019-03-28

Take as much of a break as you need, you definitely earned it!

Volvary - 2019-03-28

One more proof of NurdRage being canadian: Apologies for going on a much deserved break. Welcome back.

Rsaramallac - 2019-03-28

Horaaaaaay
He didn’t Doug’s Lab us :D

Crows Red - 2019-03-29

Rsaramallac what ever happened to Doug's lab?

paintballfuego - 2019-03-28

I'm a simple man I see Borderlands I click...

Daniel Rouw - 2019-03-28

Just an observation, reaction rates appear to be in order of lowest melting points. Could phase limit some part of the reaction?

Overengineering - 2019-03-28

Studying Chemistry destroyed my interesst in it in just 1,5 years, but I still enjoy watching other people doing stuff.

Ryan - 2019-03-28

Welcome back man and also big fan of borderlands.

gilgameshismist - 2019-03-30

I get my Lithium by opening 2032 batteries, I was amazed by the quantity there was in there.
I discovered it when I needed to make a dummy/proxy 2032 battery for a project. when I opened a 2032 battery to empty it I noticed that inside the battery-button one side had a thick slab of Lithium which I could scrape of with a screwdriver.

GuerrillaRadio - 2019-10-02

Nice find! Thank you. :o)

PENDANTturnips - 2019-03-28

Borderlands 3 soon!

Caligula - 2019-04-07

Whhhaaaatt? I literally just played The Pre-Sequal all day & finished up 15 minutes ago :)

ry part - 2019-04-07

you play borderlands and ur a chemistry nerd wtf i've found my soul mate.

adrianpip2000 - 2019-03-28

You've freakin' earned that vacation, though! Also, would be really cool to see the Rb/Cs-equivalent of the reaction, even though it isn't really all that amateur friendly!

LoL-O-Mat 1000 - 2019-03-28

Come on! There is a project much apprechiated: perborate oxidation of oximes to generate nitroalkanes.

Big Iggy - 2019-03-28

Been wondering where you were. Glad to see you're back!

Don't be sorry for needing a break, we all need a break from monotony bro!

2soldierman2 - 2019-03-28

I didn't have any luck with potassium and tetrahydralinalool. Give it a go and see if its just me.

李智 - 2019-03-30

but ceasium cloride is decently easy to get, and you could make CaOH by electolysis of CsCl.....right?

Canadian_Apple - 2019-03-28

Glad to see you're back! Always love watching and learning from these videos.

r77xxl - 2019-03-28

you oughtta twitch stream your down time. would be interesting to watch you play borderlands, or even play with viewers. maybe it'll be interesting to play borderlands with someone else who understands chem. or maybe it'll end up being a terrible idea that you can be sure that you will never revisit.

Archi Yakumo - 2019-03-28

How about activating Al surface with mercury chloride catalyst? It is done in some organic syntheses as a substitute for better reducing agents - like Lithiun Aluminium Hydride (LAH).

Rushil Fernandes - 2019-03-28

Exactly what I was thinking! Aluminium amalgam is extremely reactive.

AguaFluorida - 2019-03-29

@Rushil Fernandes Maybe even gallium could be used as a non-toxic (and non-volatile) alternative.

Д-SPEC - 2019-03-28

I noticed that trend in reaction rates, and have planned to attempt this reaction with cesium. I have cesium carbonate which I've used to make cesium from a reaction with lithium, and mixing a solution of that in ethanol with an ethanol solution of sodium hydroxide should precipitate sodium carbonate and leave a solution of cesium hydroxide. This could then be dried with lithium tert-butoxide (although, now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I didn't think lithium metal would work), mixed with dry mineral oil (I have some that once had cesium metal in it and now is probably very dry and contains cesium compounds), and reacted.
But I'm quite busy these days, so you might get to this first.

Ben Earhart - 2019-03-28

You can do it at room temperature with electrolysis. You do it with Lithium Phosphate and Sodium Phosphate and a salt bridge. At the reducing side, you build up a saturated solution of LiOH. past a certain concentration, the water reaction to LiOH is too slow and you get a buildup of solid lithium on the cathode. I haven't tried it but I did do an experiment that suggested making a salt-bridge using agar and NaOH works. So you get ion exchange from phosphate to hydroxide. The Sodium Phosphate is there in significant amounts simply for ionic strength in order to raise the solubility of Li3P04 to reasonable levels. There is at least one patent on this.

Basement Science - 2019-04-01

Would using more than 250°C be a feasible way to accelerate the lithium production?
Or will there be more problems resulting from that? (evaporation, ...?)

Surota Onishi - 2019-03-28

I see your vacation is playing borderlands, man of culture I see

Alexander Anderson - 2019-03-28

I can’t believe you actually play BL2. Thats amazing.

Qgal5kap123 - 2019-03-28

You have great taste in games. Did you watch any "The Expanse" as well, during your downtime?

Celadrial - 2020-08-23

Have you tried electrolysis with propylene carbonate as electrolyte? Apparently it can make alkali metals at room temperature.

I'd love to see a video on that.

TheBigBAD - 2019-04-02

I was just playing Borderlands 2 earlier today! :D

Nicholas Alt - 2019-03-28

Awesome update. A route to Li, would be cool, but great to know about the impact on Na process. That locks down my approach for replicating your work. The kids will have a blast with the demo when I get some Na - pun intended.
Never worry about taking a break, I'm just happy you're able to do what you do, and still manage to balance personal time. Too much pressure has diluted the quality of many a YT channel.

Philie Spiess - 2019-03-29

Ahh bl.. I see you're a man of culture as well! 😆 bet you was watching the past stream today too 😁

Amana Wolf - 2019-03-29

Now I'm curious if it's possible to do this with elements in the Group 2 category like Strontium and Barium.

Ask Questions, Try Things - 2019-03-28

I'm intrigued, some very interesting possibilities in this update.

foreskin bandit - 2019-04-10

I saw a borderlands2 thumbnail I'm listening

captainkenno - 2019-03-28

Agreed, life as we know it ceases on cyberpunk 2077 day. MRE's ready, blackout blinds ready, caffeine stockpile ready. Bring it on lol

Jeremy Lindh - 2019-06-05

While lithium hydroxide doesn't have an appreciable reaction with glass in the molten state, lithium metal does - this is why you can't melt lithium in a glass ampoule. Maybe try a different container with the same reactants and see if it helps? Something like stainless steel, if you have a setup for it?

Usik Kurchatov - 2019-03-28

Can we take a moment to appreciate that 7 hours ago the official borderlands 3 trailer was released, less than a day after NurdRage talked about it? I mean, we all knew he would one day control the world, but this soon?

Zaekk - 2019-03-29

Wow my brain. I thought this was a nile red video when I clicked on it and its a nurdrage video with borderlands content. @-@

Elliot Grey - 2019-03-28

Have you seen that new Borderlands 3 teaser tho? Dude I'm having an exothermic reaction.

Edit: No need to apologise for taking a needed break. As someone who dabbles in various creative projects constantly, I completely understand getting burned out but still feeling compelled to rush and finish something, just for the sake of calling it finished. Self-care, in whatever form it takes for you, is hella important.

Guodlca - 2019-04-04

Rip NurdRage 13th September 2019.

harlan hite - 2019-03-28

Was confused when I saw borderlands lol

TheDoctor - 2019-03-28

Oh no! I was like number 666. Something truly evil must be in the works at your lab. :)

Wayne Cribbs - 2019-03-28

No need to apologize for taking a vacation! You deserve it after that Sodium series!

Tcll5850 - 2019-03-28

even the best minds need a break
take your time man :)

chavezlaw78 - 2019-03-28

Welcome back!

Stefan Buller - 2019-03-28

Looks like a nice vacation. I look forward to some less serious videos.

John Lee Pettimore III - 2019-03-29

Everyone needs some occasional time away. Enjoy.