Lithium Carbonate
Properties
| State | Solid |
| Color | White crystalline powder |
| Solubility | Sparingly soluble in water (13 g/L at 20 °C); insoluble in ethanol |
| Melting Point | 723 °C |
| Boiling Point | 1310 °C (decomposes) |
About Lithium Carbonate
Lithium carbonate is the gateway compound for nearly every downstream lithium chemistry on earth. Spodumene concentrates from Australian hard-rock mines and brine pumped from the Atacama salars both end up as Li2SO4 solutions, and adding hot Na2CO3 precipitates Li2CO3 because lithium carbonate has the unusual property — for an alkali metal carbonate — of being only sparingly soluble in water (13 g/L at 20 °C, dropping further with temperature; the rare retrograde solubility curve). That precipitation step is where 'battery-grade' (>=99.5%) and 'technical-grade' (>=99%) specifications get drawn, and it's the reason global Li2CO3 production scaled from roughly 150,000 tonnes in 2015 to past 1 million tonnes in 2024 — Tesla's Gigafactory and every other lithium-ion plant downstream calcines Li2CO3 with NiO/MnO2/CoO at 700-900 °C to make NMC, NCA, and LFP cathode oxides. The same compound has a separate, much older life as the first-line mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder, FDA-approved in 1970. Therapeutic serum levels run 0.6-1.2 mmol Li/L, and toxicity sets in above 1.5 mmol/L — one of the narrowest therapeutic windows in clinical pharmacology, which is why every patient on lithium gets a quarterly serum draw. The same Li-ion modulates GSK-3 and inositol monophosphatase signaling that is now of intense interest in Alzheimer's research.
Where you'll encounter it
If you've ever opened a laptop, started an EV, or watched a psychiatry rotation prescribe a 300 mg lithium tablet TID for bipolar I, you've seen Li2CO3 at both ends of its career — the cathode-precursor end and the mood-stabilizer end. In a cathode plant the Li2CO3 spec sheet matters down to single-digit ppm Na, K, Ca, Mg, B, Fe — anything higher and you get capacity loss and dendrite-driven failure in finished cells. On a psychiatry inpatient unit the same compound shows up as 300 mg orange tablets dispensed three times daily with quarterly serum draws targeting 0.6-1.2 mmol/L, and every new ACE inhibitor or NSAID added to the chart triggers a stat lithium level because dehydration can push a stable patient past 1.5 mmol/L within 48 hours.
Common Uses
- Cathode-precursor calcination feedstock for LiCoO2, LiFePO4, LiNiMnCoO2, and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2
- First-line mood stabilizer for bipolar I disorder (Eskalith, Lithobid; FDA 1970)
- Adjunct therapy for treatment-resistant depression at lower serum-level targets
- Glaze flux in pottery and porcelain — lowers melting temperature and improves thermal-shock resistance
- Cement-set accelerator for low-temperature concrete pours
- Aluminum-smelting bath additive (Hall-Heroult cell electrolyte chemistry)
- Starting material for LiOH and LiCl synthesis in lithium-chemistry refineries
- Lithium-isotope source for 6Li enrichment in tritium-breeding research
Safety Information
GHS: Acute Tox. 4 oral (H302), Skin Irrit. 2 (H315), Eye Irrit. 2A (H319), Repr. 1A (H360FD — known human reproductive toxicant; teratogenic in first trimester causing Ebstein's anomaly cardiac defect). Therapeutic serum level 0.6-1.2 mmol Li/L; toxic above 1.5 mmol/L causes tremor, ataxia, confusion, seizures, and acute renal failure; serum level over 3.5 mmol/L is a hemodialysis indication. Pregnancy category D — pregnancy testing before prescribing is standard. OSHA does not have a specific PEL for lithium compounds; manufacturers recommend handling as a Category 4 acute oral toxicant with dust controls.
This safety summary is for educational reference only and may not be complete. It is not a substitute for Safety Data Sheets (SDS), medical advice, or professional chemical safety guidance. Always consult appropriate SDS and qualified professionals before handling chemicals.