Lithium is the least dense metal and reacts readily with water. Its compounds and alloys have different roles: rechargeable batteries use lithium chemistry, while aluminum-lithium alloys combine low mass with useful strength. In nature, lithium occurs in minerals and brines rather than as exposed metal.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How do lithium ions and electrons take different routes while a battery powers a device?
Lithium-containing electrode and electrolyte materials
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Store energy chemically
A charged lithium-ion cell holds chemical potential energy in its electrode system; lithium-containing materials are arranged around an electrolyte and separator.
Explore the model (optional)
LiFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D3 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[He] 2s1. Grouping electrons by principal shell connects the neutral-atom configuration to periodic-table patterns.
What this representation means
A three-dimensional counting diagram. Dots are count markers, not measured electron positions; spherical placement and spacing are arbitrary. There are no electron trajectories here. Orbitals describe quantum states.
Arfvedson identified lithium in 1817 while analyzing petalite, a already known from a Swedish locality. Recognizing a new alkali element did not immediately yield enough metal to study easily. Small samples followed, and Bunsen and Matthiessen obtained larger quantities in 1855. The sequence separates three achievements that discovery stories often compress together: finding a mineral, identifying an element, and isolating useful material.
1817
Element identified
Arfvedson recognized a previously unknown alkali element in petalite.
1855
Larger metal samples obtained
Bunsen and Matthiessen prepared enough lithium metal for fuller investigation.
Lithium is found in compounds within minerals such as spodumene, petalite, and lepidolite, and in certain brines and mineral waters. Reactive lithium metal is not the natural form in these deposits. Recovering it therefore involves both concentrating a dispersed resource and changing its chemical form.
Lithium is a soft, light alkali metal that reacts with water and commonly forms positively charged in compounds. Lithium-containing materials can have quite different behavior: salts may absorb moisture, while particular materials participate in rechargeable batteries. The surrounding compound or determines the application.
Each section links its supporting references. Descriptions and diagrams were authored for this atlas. Source checks completed. Source checks dated 2026-09-06.
CITE THIS PAGE
Family labels and the group-3 layout are teaching conventions. A table position does not establish an unknown bulk property. Electronic configurations refer to neutral atoms; ions and material environments require their own account.
Read each reference property together with its units, conditions and the reference information below.
Not yet recorded: electron affinity, second ionization energy, ground-state term symbol, van der waals radius, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, crystal structure, lattice parameter a, space group, abundance in seawater, abundance in the universe, annual production, supply-risk listing, hazard classification, biological role, cas registry number, pubchem cid, wikidata item. These families are declared and awaiting an ingestion run against the source each names; they are listed here rather than shown as empty rows.
Physical
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Phase at 20 °C
solid
293.15 K, 101.325 kPa
Melting point in K
453.65 K
at standard pressure unless noted
Boiling point in K
1603 K
101.325 kPa
Density in g/cm³
0.534 g/cm³
solids and liquids at 293 K; gases at 273 K and 101.325 kPa
Atomic and electronic
Intended reference: Pauling electronegativity scale · Widely tabulated; original in The Nature of the Chemical Bond
Electronegativity in Pauling
0.98 Pauling
Pauling scale
First ionization energy in kJ/mol
520.2 kJ/mol
gas-phase neutral atom, ground state
Covalent radius in pm
128 pm
single-bond covalent radius
Common oxidation states
+1
states met in ordinary compounds; not exhaustive
Occurrence and identity
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Abundance in the crust in mg/kg
20 mg/kg
upper continental crust, mass fraction
Has stable isotopes
Yesderived
Discovery year in CE
1817 CEderived
WHERE IT SITS AMONG ITS NEIGHBORS
Electronegativity across period 2
Li 0.98 Pauling · Lithium
Electronegativity across period 2. Exact values.
Li
0.98
Be
1.57
B
2.04
C
2.55
N
3.04
O
3.44
F
3.98
Electronegativity down group 1
Li 0.98 Pauling · Lithium
Electronegativity down group 1. Exact values.
H
2.2
Li
0.98
Na
0.93
K
0.82
Rb
0.82
Cs
0.79
The trend uses the same reference-property values as the periodic table. Elements with no recorded value are left out of the line rather than drawn at zero.
