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n-Butyllithium: The Workhorse Reagent Changing Modern Chemistry

Backstory: n-Butyllithium from Curiosity to Industry Standard

Early generations of chemists relied on rather blunt tools to build complex molecules. Oxygen, nitrogen, halogens—those were on the periodic table, but working with alkali metals in the laboratory always sounded like something best left undisturbed. In the 1930s and 1940s, though, researchers like Schlenk and Ziegler figured out that plugging lithium into organic structures led to unexpectedly useful compounds. n-Butyllithium stood out early on—suddenly, classical synthesis gained a much sharper scalpel. Labs could cleanly strip hydrogen away from molecules or bolt new attachments onto organic rings. As the war ended and the field of synthetic organic chemistry expanded, n-butyllithium became the backbone for entire classes of reactions. It’s easy to overlook how this reagent transformed commercial and pharmaceutical chemistry. Before it, polymer manufacturing and drug development moved much slower, with poorer yields and greater waste. n-Butyllithium nudged these industries towards efficiency, and its impact hasn’t faded.

What n-Butyllithium Is—And Why Chemists Swear By It

n-Butyllithium comes as a pale, often yellowish solution in hydrocarbons like hexanes. Chemists know the smell before the label: its strong, acrid odor warns of its reactivity. In a nutshell, it acts as a powerful base that readily strips off protons and as a nucleophile in organometallic synthesis. Laboratories and factories order it in a range of concentrations, from dilute solutions for careful titrations to highly concentrated variants for bulk reactions. As it reacts with air and moisture, it needs careful handling, which limits its use to folks trained in inert atmosphere techniques. Naming conventions seem endless—n-BuLi, n-butyllithium, or sometimes straight-up BuLi—but inside every bottle, it remains the same reactive, lithium-based compound.

Physical and Chemical Traits Shaping Its Reputation

If you’ve ever cracked open a bottle of n-butyllithium, you’ve seen the cloudy, slightly viscous solution that reminds you this stuff doesn’t want to play nicely with water or air. It ignites on contact with moisture—a chemistry rite of passage is hearing the hiss or seeing that flash from a drop left exposed too long. Its molecular weight sits at 64.06 g/mol, but in solution, it tends to cluster into tetramers or hexamers, creating structures that influence its basicity and reactivity. That trademark reactivity comes from the lithium-carbon bond, which moves electrons with eagerness, stripping protons from even mildly acidic hydrogens, making it indispensable for deprotonations and metalations in synthesis. The presence of hydrocarbon solvents like hexane offers a modest safety net, reducing volatility but not the intense reactivity. Its boiling and melting characteristics fade in importance compared to its behavior in chemical reactions. Although most industrial labs have strict dosing control, variability in solution concentration can create issues, reminding users to always titrate a fresh bottle.

Technical Specifications and Real-World Labeling

Every bottle of n-butyllithium includes precise labeling, warning about pyrophoric hazards and listing the molarity alongside solvent type. Laboratories need this clarity: slip-ups in concentration calculations waste precious starting materials or, worse, set reactions off in ways nobody intended. Labels typically stress storage under inert gas, specifying nitrogen or argon. For anyone working with it, glovebox or Schlenk line technique is muscle memory by the second week, and everyone learns to respect the difference between 1.6 M and 2.5 M solutions—it means more than just a casual glance at the label. Suppliers usually stamp a date of manufacture, and in fast-paced research environments, folks keep logs on each bottle’s opening and titration, guarding against drift in potency over time.

How Chemists Cook Up n-Butyllithium

Scaling from the lab bench to industrial vats, making n-butyllithium usually starts with a straightforward dance between n-butyl chloride and lithium metal. Drop by drop, the n-butyl chloride trickles into a slurry of lithium shavings (or granular lithium) suspended in hexanes or similar hydrocarbon solvent. The reaction gets jumpy, producing heat and hydrogen gas. Experience has taught chemists to add n-butyl chloride slowly, controlling the exothermic surge and keeping conditions oxygen-free. Many labs use redistilled solvents to cut down on impurities, and filtration clears out the lithium chloride byproduct. This isn’t a plug-and-play process—the route functions best with fresh lithium and rigorously dry conditions. On a commercial scale, careful gas handling and reflux control keep the operation safe and efficient. In smaller labs, old tricks like using a Dewar flask to keep temperatures steady and a constant stream of inert gas underscore the attention demanded by even a small batch.

Chemical Reactions and Organic Synthesis: Why n-Butyllithium Sits Front Row

n-Butyllithium earns its reputation as one of the sharpest scalpels in a chemist’s toolkit because it doesn’t hesitate when asked to strip away protons or create carbanions. In my experience, nothing cleans up a stubborn aromatic compound like a dose of cold BuLi—it deprotonates arenes and heterocycles that refuse to budge with weaker bases. Its ability to generate lithium reagents drives the synthesis of specialty polymers, drug molecules, and natural product analogues. That paves the way for downstream transformations: coupling reactions, alkylations, acylations, and even ring constructions that otherwise wouldn’t run. In polymer science, it starts the anionic polymerizations that build better tires and elastomers. Every organic chemist has a preferred modification—substituting deuterium by proton exchange for labeling, linebacker-style deprotonations in retrosynthetic analysis, or preparing organolithium intermediates for Grignard-like actions with finer control. The scope and versatility of reactions involving n-butyllithium rival any other organometallic reagent.

What’s in a Name? Synonyms and Tradename Jungle

Talk to chemists across continents, and you’ll hear n-butyllithium called by a handful of names: BuLi, n-BuLi, or just “lithium butyl.” Literature reviews also dig up historical ones like “normal butyllithium.” In patents and regulatory filings, it might appear as “1-lithiobutane.” Product labels mostly stick to the concise “n-butyllithium in hexanes” or “n-butyllithium solution.” In research papers, abbreviations win the day—once the first mention is out of the way, everyone just writes BuLi and expects the reader to know what’s up. This patchwork of labels highlights the compound’s reach, from startup research outposts to the big pharmaceutical pipelines.

Keeping Safe and Working Smart

Safety means more than gloves and goggles. n-Butyllithium doesn’t tolerate carelessness—its pyrophoric nature challenges even experienced hands. Standard labs keep Class D fire extinguishers within arm’s reach, and working behind a blast shield becomes second nature. Opening a new bottle involves purging equipment with inert gas, using needle techniques to avoid contact with air, and triple checking lines for leaks. Labs with liquid nitrogen gloves go through entire shipments each semester, and many departments require recurring hands-on training to stay sharp. Spill procedures get rehearsed as regularly as fire drills. Health guidelines warn about the chemical’s corrosive effect on skin and tissue, and wastes get carefully quenched with isopropanol before disposal. In the past, accidents sparked much of this routine; today, best practices reflect those hard-learned lessons. Even with all these measures, adopting a personal ritual—slow movements, double checks, saying reactions out loud—goes far to keep everyone working safely.

Pushing the Limits: n-Butyllithium in R&D and Industry

Every field that needs complex carbon structures counts on n-butyllithium. Universities push its chemistry to the edge, designing asymmetric syntheses, new ligands, or organometallic frameworks. Commercial outfits use massive quantities to drive polymerizations—styrene, butadiene, and their kin all depend on a reliable dose of this lithium reagent. In pharmaceuticals, it gives medicinal chemists the chance to create intricate intermediates, crucial for everything from asthma drugs to antiviral agents. Materials scientists appreciate its ability to tweak electronic properties of conjugated polymers and graphene derivatives. The ever-tightening push for “green chemistry” spurs ongoing research: cleaner solvent systems, reduced precautions, more recovery and recycling. As the chemistry toolkit keeps growing, new-generation ligands and even flow chemistry applications push n-butyllithium into more controlled and predictable domains.

Toxicity Studies: Knowing the Risks, Finding Safer Ways

Handling n-butyllithium doesn’t just concern human health—it affects the laboratory environment as a whole. Toxicologists took note as n-butyllithium gained ground in the mid-twentieth century; case reports of burns and inhalation injuries earned it a spot on many watchlists. Its corrosive effects on tissue, combined with the risk of ignition, make for a tough opponent. Inhalation or skin exposure leads to lithium toxicity, with symptoms from irritation up to neurological effects in severe cases. Closed systems and fume hoods now stand as the baseline, and modern training emphasizes both physical injury and chemical risks. Environmental impact drives newer research—minimizing lithium residues in wastewater, reducing solvent emissions, and capturing byproducts. Some startups (and many academic labs) look to swap out n-butyllithium for less aggressive—but still effective—reagents, but there are few that hit all the same notes with the precision and consistency demanded by high-level synthesis.

What Lies Ahead for n-Butyllithium?

Synthetic chemistry’s key players don’t retire easily. n-Butyllithium’s utility in manufacturing, research, and drug development keeps it in high demand. The global movement towards sustainability shapes new directives—pushing for processes that consume less, generate less waste, and improve safety at every step. Green solvents, alternative organolithium reagents, and automated systems already nudge the field towards safer, cleaner practices. Future research might unlock catalysts or tandem methods that cut the total number of steps required in complex syntheses. As lithium resources tighten globally, recycling programs and new supply chains affect both cost and best practices. Open dialogue in academic and industrial circles, constant vigilance for safety, and a willingness to adopt better practices help sustain the culture of careful, mindful progress that n-butyllithium demands. The chemical world seldom stands still, but for now, this reagent continues to power new ideas, bold syntheses, and the kind of problem-solving that shapes industries and laboratories alike.




What is n-Butyllithium used for?

Inside the World of n-Butyllithium

n-Butyllithium doesn’t land in the news, but any chemist who’s worked in synthesis knows its value. You walk into a university lab or a pharmaceutical facility, and you’ll often spot those steel-cylinders or opaque bottles labeled with warnings about air and water. That’s usually n-Butyllithium, and its reactive nature isn’t just a cautionary tale—it’s why this compound powers so much modern chemistry.

Building Blocks for Medicines and Materials

I remember my first encounter with n-Butyllithium—nervous hands, a strict supervisor watching, the glass pipette hissing as it touched the solvent. Its role isn’t dramatic, but it sets chemical change in motion. In drug development, chemists count on it to generate carbon-lithium bonds. Those bonds let researchers piece together new molecules, fine-tuning structures to hit disease targets or reduce nasty side effects.

Antidepressants, antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs—a huge chunk of modern medicines owe part of their journey to the reactions sparked off by n-Butyllithium. A recent American Chemical Society report showed that over 25% of new small-molecule drugs need a step involving organolithium chemistry. You can't get there with just baking soda and vinegar; you need firepower like n-Butyllithium.

Polymers and Specialty Chemicals

Beyond medicine, n-Butyllithium pulls its weight in making plastics and elastomers. Everyone who ties their shoes in the morning or rides a bike leans, invisibly, on the chemistry of butyllithium. In producing rubber that resists wear or temperature extremes, this compound offers the control. Synthetic rubber used in tires and shoe soles gets its springiness because n-Butyllithium directs the polymer chains to line up in the right way.

Electronics, paints, adhesives—these industries rely on specialized polymers that begin with this compound. Its role in creating tight, uniform structures in plastics means your smartphone lasts longer and your sneakers grip pavement better. Such everyday comfort starts in a lab, often with a bottle marked “n-Butyllithium—Handle with Caution.”

Why Handle with Care?

The dangers of n-Butyllithium can’t go unmentioned. This is a chemical that catches fire in air or explodes in water. It’s not rare to hear stories about lab fires and close calls. Chemists double up gloves, move slowly, and keep extinguishers ready. This isn’t just paranoia—accidents can be deadly.

Whatever its benefits, the cost of poor handling climbs high. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration keeps a close eye on labs using it. Spills or exposure can trigger full-scale evacuations. I’ve seen teams rehearse their steps, just to open a bottle safely during training sessions.

Sustainable Solutions in Sight

With its usefulness comes responsibility. Researchers keep hunting for safer alternatives, while industries look at how to recover and recycle lithium-based reagents to reduce environmental impact. Some companies built closed-loop systems where n-Butyllithium gets captured and reused, trimming down waste and minimizing risk.

Safer protocols and automation help further. Robotics now measure and transfer reactive chemicals, protecting workers and reducing accidents. There’s progress here. At the same time, chemistry keeps needing tools that work as effectively as n-Butyllithium, especially for building the next generation of medicines and materials.

Whether in pharmaceuticals, plastics, or industrial labs, n-Butyllithium isn’t just a chemical. It’s a reminder that progress and risk, when managed with knowledge and respect, can move science—and our daily lives—a whole lot further.

How should n-Butyllithium be stored safely?

Working With a Volatile Chemical

n-Butyllithium isn’t your everyday lab reagent. Anyone who’s worked with it knows just how reactive it is with air and moisture. That kind of fire risk doesn’t leave room for shortcuts. Even a drop of water nearby will trigger a sharp, bright flash and possibly a blaze that spreads fast. Having seen an inexperienced undergraduate nearly lose their eyebrows during a rushed transfer, I learned from early on that safe storage isn’t a box to tick — it’s real lab life safety.

Choosing the Right Container

Only certain containers can keep n-Butyllithium calm. Glass bottles with proper seals and PTFE-lined caps block moisture and oxygen. Metal and plastic play no role here—contact with the wrong material can trigger a reaction. Fact is, commercial suppliers usually sell it dissolved in hexanes or another hydrocarbon, which helps slow down air exposure. That’s a small comfort, not a reason to relax.

Where to Store n-Butyllithium?

Many labs set aside flammable liquid storage cabinets. These cabinets act as a guard against unexpected ignition. Vents stay closed unless the fire alarm kicks in. The bottle never goes on an open bench or anywhere sunlight or heat beats down on it. Temperature swings speed up pressure inside the bottle, and that’s just asking for trouble. Every flammable cabinet should have a spot specifically labeled for pyrophoric reagents, away from acids and oxidizers, since too many stories start with a shelf mix-up.

Keeping It Cool—Not Frozen

Don’t move n-Butyllithium to the freezer. Freezing presses solvent and solute apart, and that can pop the cap or crack the glass. Room temperature or just below, in a well-marked part of a dedicated cabinet, does the job. Some labs keep desiccants in the cabinet to lower the risk of accidental moisture. That extra layer makes sense, especially in older buildings where HVAC isn’t always reliable.

Sensible Handling for Safe Storage

Even the safest storage means nothing without proper transfer. Syringes and needles — clean and dry every time — help avoid leaks. Double-check for cracks, loose caps, and drippy residues before putting the bottle away. No one wants to open the cabinet and get blasted by fumes. Each bottle should carry a clear, dated label so everyone knows what’s inside and how old it is. Don’t let bottles linger for years—age doesn’t help stability.

Training and Emergency Readiness

Every research group working with n-Butyllithium should walk through what would happen if something goes wrong. Fire blankets and sand buckets should stand ready, not tucked away behind a pile of gloves. Emergency shower and eyewash stations must stay clear. No storage guideline means much if no one can find safety gear in an emergency. Training shouldn’t just be checking boxes on a form. Watching a real-life demonstration, done by someone who knows the quirks of this chemical, prepares people for things they won’t learn from a textbook.

Learning From Real Incidents

Stories of lab fires caused by careless handling travel fast around chemistry departments. They stick with people more than dry rules. I remember a senior grad student who managed n-Butyllithium safely for years but slipped up during a late-night experiment. He ended up grabbing a sand bucket to smother a small flare-up. The right gear close by made a difference. Having backup plans and double-checking each step makes safe storage part of daily routine, not just a protocol.

What are the hazards and safety precautions for handling n-Butyllithium?

The Real Risks Behind n-Butyllithium

n-Butyllithium isn’t your regular chemical; it’s highly pyrophoric and can ignite on contact with air. Toss in its extreme reactivity with water, and now you’re working with something that can explode before you get a chance to react. Splashes can burn right through clothing and skin, so any lapse during handling can turn a routine experiment into an emergency.

During my years in organic synthesis, stories of accidental fires with n-Butyllithium never felt exaggerated. Even opening a bottle in a fume hood produced anxiety. You don’t just respect this chemical—you constantly anticipate its next move. It doesn’t forgive mistakes. I once saw a tiny drop land on a benchtop—even a small spill sent orange flames dancing across the surface faster than any solvent fire I’ve seen since.

What Makes n-Butyllithium So Hazardous?

This compound comes dissolved in hydrocarbon solvents, often hexanes or pentane, both of which add to the fire risk. If n-Butyllithium encounters moisture or common lab plastics, violent reactions can follow. Vapors escaping from even a loose cap can self-ignite, especially in busy labs where airflow drops and distractions add up. Direct contact destroys tissue on contact, and inhalation causes severe respiratory issues.

Health agencies classify n-Butyllithium as a material demanding vigilant handling protocols. Even the tiniest exposure must be taken seriously. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) detail the compound’s dangers, reminding chemists that n-Butyllithium can inflict chemical burns, permanent eye injury, or worse.

Essential Precautions: What Actually Works

Keeping safe with n-Butyllithium requires more than a basic precaution checklist. Gloves—nitrile for the solvent, thick neoprene over them for the fiery stuff—aren’t optional. Only flame-resistant lab coats should come near this stuff. Safety glasses work, but a full face shield offers real protection, especially during transfers.

Every transfer needs to happen inside an inert atmosphere—think glove box or a Schlenk line with dry nitrogen or argon. No lab ever avoided spills forever, but handling n-Butyllithium in dry glassware and purging all air first can prevent most surprises. Syringes and needles must stay dry and clean. Everyone in the room should know where fire extinguishers and drench showers stand, and not just by theory but through actual, recent training.

I’ve seen a can of sand near the n-Butyllithium bench save the day after a spill once. Water doesn’t help; it makes things worse. Sodium bicarbonate or sand can smother small fires, but for larger issues, a class D extinguisher works best. Spill kits tailored for organolithium reagents earn their shelf space in any lab that uses this compound.

Cultivating Safe Habits with n-Butyllithium

Labs don’t teach healthy caution nearly enough. I learned from a mistake—watching a peer ignore protocol out of haste—and it nearly ended badly. Real-world incidents make a stronger impression than lectures.

Clear protocols and regular retraining go a long way. Teams get comfortable sharing near-misses, and that openness prevents repeat mistakes. Safety walks in the lab, not hidden in paper manuals. Whether handling n-Butyllithium for research or scale-up, vigilant preparation, proper PPE, and a culture of accountability keep dangerous incidents out of the headlines—and more importantly, keep colleagues out of harm’s way.

What concentrations and solvents are available for n-Butyllithium?

n-Butyllithium in the Lab—Choices and Consequences

Pulling n-Butyllithium off the shelf feels like standing at a crossroads. Over the years, the question that rolls through every synthetic chemist’s mind goes beyond “do I have enough?” and straight into “what solution am I actually reaching for?” It matters way more than most newbies realize. This stuff packs a punch, and not all bottles are the same: every label tells a story about concentration and solvent that changes how reactions end up.

The Usual Concentrations: What’s Standard, What’s Not

Walk into any stockroom and you’ll spot n-Butyllithium in strengths ranging from 1.6 molar up to about 2.5 molar, at least in most mainstream research and industrial setups. There are companies that prepare it stronger—up to 3.3 molar—but you don’t see that every day on campus. Ask around and you’ll hear people talk about 1.6 M in hexane as the “bread and butter” choice because it strikes a good balance between safety and reactivity. A stronger solution might save space but comes with higher fire risk if something goes sideways.

Pick Your Poison: Hexane, Cyclohexane, or Pentane

Not all solvents work equally well with n-Butyllithium, mainly because of stability issues and handling headaches. Most bottles come in hexane, and for a lot of us, it’s not even a question—we use hexane for storage and most bench applications because it keeps the reagent steady, doesn’t boil off too fast, and won’t make your fume hood a disaster zone. Cyclohexane also shows up, usually in European contexts or where labs need a higher boiling point and less evaporation. Pentane looks attractive for ultra-dry, low-viscosity work, but managing its volatility can trip up the best of us. Each solvent affects how fast n-Butyllithium reacts, how easy it is to weigh and measure, and even waste disposal downstream.

Safety Isn’t Just a Buzzword

I still remember the first time I unstoppered a bottle—flames don’t ask if you’ve read the MSDS. n-Butyllithium in these solutions hits air and wants to light up, especially as the concentration goes above 2.5 M. The risk goes up with pentane and diethyl ether solutions, which burn more easily and evaporate faster. Solvent choice is more than a technical detail; it’s baked into any responsible safety culture. Labs drill us on gloves, blast shields, and nitrogen flows, but the actual container and what’s inside matter. I’d take a little inconvenience over a major accident any day.

Why Concentration and Solvent Shape Results

Beyond just staying safe, the pairing of concentration and solvent tweaks your chemical outcomes. Diluted solutions mean gentler reactions and more control, which pays off in sensitive syntheses or with functional groups that don’t play nice with aggressive bases. Stronger solutions might be the call for large-scale or industrial work where throughput rules, but that opens up all kinds of challenges for mixing, temperature control, and post-reaction cleanup. Each concentration-solvent combination opens some doors and closes others in reaction design, especially in fields like pharmaceuticals or specialty polymers, where reproducibility is gold.

Looking for Smarter Solutions

Labs and suppliers keep looking for ways to marry safety and flexibility. Switching to pre-scored ampoules, better septa, and safer dispensing kits can make a real difference. Some groups experiment with alternative carriers or gel systems to slow down release or add colored indicators for leaks. Training up staff and never cutting corners on personal protective equipment counts for more than any glassware trick. People who’ve burned a glove on a rogue drop of n-Butyllithium tend not to forget, and that experience is worth more than any warning label.

How should spills or exposures to n-Butyllithium be managed?

Understanding the Threat

Anyone who’s spent time in a chemical lab knows about n-Butyllithium. It’s a staple in organic synthesis because it’s a powerful base, but it comes with dangers nobody should ignore. This compound reacts violently with water and air, sparking fires that flare hot and fast. The pyrophoric nature puts people at risk, and even brief exposures can burn skin or damage the lungs. Stories float around in research circles about near-misses or sudden flare-ups. Those experiences push teams to take n-Butyllithium handling seriously.

Reacting to a Spill—Speed Matters

A spill kicks quick thinking into gear. Scrambling for the right response translates to fewer injuries and less damage. The first move should never involve water — that only makes the situation worse. Teams need to immediately alert their lab mates, switch off sources of ignition, and clear away anyone not directly involved in cleanup. Air flow helps, but only if doing so doesn’t spread fumes toward occupied space.

A well-stocked spill kit changes the outcome. It needs copper sand or similar Class D fire extinguishing material, not the usual fire blanket or water-based products. Standard lab sand sometimes makes a difference, but doesn’t stop the reactivity. Workers must always wear proper gloves, tightly sealed goggles, flame-resistant lab coats, and chemical splash aprons. Forgetting so much as a glove can mean painful burns or worse.

Calling for Help Early

Confidence tempts people to handle more than they should. Calling the campus environmental health and safety team or local fire department buys experience and specialized tools. Hesitation wastes precious minutes. Years in research taught me to keep emergency numbers written right by the fume hood. Those early phone calls pay off, especially when accidents go beyond what two hands can control.

Exposure Isn’t Just a Spill

A splash onto the skin or eyes calls for running water, but only as a last resort after removing contaminated clothing and soaking up as much as possible with dry towels—water itself can start a fire if it hits pooled n-Butyllithium. Quick moves to the emergency shower or eyewash station help flush away the compound, though you still face the possibility of thermal or chemical burns. If someone inhales the vapors, get them to fresh air without triggering panic or putting more people at risk.

Prevention Beats Cleanup

It’s tempting to rush experiments or take shortcuts. But every step counts, from training new students to double-checking containers before starting work. Routine drills make spill response feel less foreign when adrenaline surges. Clear labeling, dry work areas, and freshly checked personal protective equipment (PPE) help avoid close calls.

Investing in Safer Practices

Institutions with strong safety cultures put resources into both prevention and preparation. That means regular inspections, transparent sharing of near-misses, and updating spill response protocols as new information comes out. Some labs move to less reactive chemicals when possible, which demands resources and flexibility, but it’s a decision that can save lives.

End of the day, n-Butyllithium demands respect—not just because of what it lets chemists build, but because a single careless moment leaves scars, both on people and on careers. Sharing those lessons across labs puts everyone on stronger, safer ground.

n-Butyllithium
Names
Preferred IUPAC name butyllithium
Other names Butyl lithium
n-Butyl-lithium
Lithium butyl
n-Butyllithium solution
Pronunciation /ɛnˈbjuːtɪlˌlɪθiəm/
Identifiers
CAS Number 109-72-8
Beilstein Reference 3587157
ChEBI CHEBI:64048
ChEMBL CHEMBL1377
ChemSpider 66411
DrugBank DB14006
ECHA InfoCard 100.014.211
EC Number 203-484-3
Gmelin Reference 878
KEGG C14326
MeSH D002010
PubChem CID 61044
RTECS number OU4375000
UNII G6I8V27B32
UN number UN3394
Properties
Chemical formula C4H9Li
Molar mass 64.06 g/mol
Appearance Colorless to pale yellow solution
Odor strong garlic odor
Density 0.68 g/mL at 25 °C
Solubility in water Reacts violently
log P -0.46
Vapor pressure 0.45 mmHg (20 °C)
Acidity (pKa) ~50
Basicity (pKb) pKb ≈ -0.8
Magnetic susceptibility (χ) Paramagnetic
Refractive index (nD) 1.378
Viscosity 0.526 mPa·s (25 °C)
Dipole moment 1.40 D
Thermochemistry
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) n-Butyllithium: 230.3 J·mol⁻¹·K⁻¹
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) -162.6 kJ/mol
Hazards
GHS labelling GHS02, GHS05, GHS06, GHS08
Pictograms GHS02, GHS06, GHS05, GHS08
Signal word Danger
Hazard statements H260, H314, H225
Precautionary statements P222, P231 + P232, P260, P264, P280, P301 + P330 + P331, P303 + P361 + P353, P305 + P351 + P338, P310, P321, P335 + P334, P363, P370 + P378, P403 + P233
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) 3-4-W- pyrophoric
Flash point -25 °C
Autoignition temperature Approx. 23 °C (73 °F)
Explosive limits 2.0–20%
Lethal dose or concentration LD50 (oral, rat): 960 mg/kg
LD50 (median dose) LD50 (median dose): Oral, rat: 800 mg/kg
NIOSH PY3500000
PEL (Permissible) 1.5 mg/m³
REL (Recommended) Glove Bag Technique
IDLH (Immediate danger) TLV: 0.1 ppm
Related compounds
Related compounds Lithium
Butyllithium
sec-Butyllithium
tert-Butyllithium
Methyllithium