15 Facts on HCl + Li3N: What, How To Balance & FAQs

Li₃N is a strong lewis base that can easily react with a strong acid like HCl. Let us see what happens when both species are reacting together and know the fact.

After ammonia, lithium nitride is one of most strong lewis bases where all the lone pairs over nitrogen are available for donation. It can easily react with a strong acid like hydrochloric acid followed by an acid-base reaction also the lone pair over Li₃N can be donated and it was accepted in the vacant orbital of Cl.

The reaction will not require any kind of catalyst, or temperature because both species are more reactive. In this article, we will learn the mechanism of the reaction like enthalpy, redox, precipitation, product formation, type of reaction, etc in detail.

1. What is the product of HCl and Li₃N?

When HCl reacts with Li₃N by 3:1 proportion then LiCl and NH₃ form but when excess HCl is reacted with by 4:1 proportion then ammonium chloride is formed along with LiCl.

2. What type of reaction is HCl + Li₃N?

The reaction between HCl + Li₃N is an acid-base reaction along with a displacement reaction where Cl gets displaced, it is also an example of a redox reaction along with a donor-acceptor reaction.

3. How to balance HCl + Li₃N?

HCl + Li₃N = LiCl + NH₃ and HCl + Li₃N = LiCl + NH₄Cl both reactions are not balanced yet, because in both reactions left-hand side is not equal to the right-hand side. Now we have to balance both equations in the following steps-

• Step 1 – Label all the molecules in the reactant sites as well as the product site.
• All the molecules are labeled by the English alphabet like A, B, C, and D because four molecules are present in both reactions. Then both reactions look like this,
• A HCl + B Li₃N = C LiCl + D NH₃
• E HCl + F Li­₃N = G LiCl + H NH₄Cl
• Step 2 –   Equating all the alphabet and coefficients of the molecules making a particular equation,
• H = A = 3D, Cl = A = C, Li = 3B = C, N = B = D and for other reactions the equations will be, H = E = 4H, Cl = E = G = H, Li = 3F = G, N = F = H
• Step 3 – Now using Gaussian elimination we calculate the value of each coefficient and variable,
• By using Gaussian elimination and substitution we can solve both equations and get, A = 3, B = 1, C = 3, D = 1 and E = 4, F = 1, G = 3, and H = 1.
• So, overall balanced equations are,
• 3 HCl + Li₃N = 3 LiCl + NH₃
• 4 HCl + Li₃N = 3 LiCl + NH₄Cl

4. HCl + Li₃N titration

Li₃N can be titrated against HCl which is an acid-base titration with a proper indicator to estimate the strength of the acid as well base. The titration required a few more things which are listed below,

Apparatus used

We need a burette, conical flask, burette holder, volumetric flask, and beakers.

Titre and titrant

Here HCl is served as titrant which is taken in the burette and the molecule to be analyzed is Li₃N as the titer.

Indicator

As it is an acid-base titration so the best-fit indicator is here phenolphthalein because in the basic medium it shows a pink color and acidic medium it becomes colorless, so we easily get the endpoint.

Procedure

The burette is filled with HCl and Li₃N is taken in a conical flask and added a few drops of indicator and shaken well. No start the titration by adding HCl from the burette dropwise in the conical and constant shaking.

After a certain time, the indicator changes its color which indicates that the base is fully neutralized by the acid and stops the titration. We repeat the titration several times for better results and then we find out the strength of the acid by the formula V₁S₁ = V₂S₂.

5. HCl+ Li₃N net ionic equation

Several ions are formed in the reaction between HCl + Li₃N like proton and chloride and Li⁺, N^3- NH₃ could not be ionized but NH₄Cl can be ionized like NH₄⁺ and Cl^–.

• 3H⁺ + 3Cl^– + 3Li⁺ + N^3- = 3Li⁺ + 3Cl^– + NH₃
• 4H⁺ + 4Cl^– + 3Li⁺ + N^3- = 3Li⁺ + 3Cl^– + NH₄⁺ + Cl^–

6. HCl+ Li₃N conjugate pairs

In the reaction HCl+ Li₃N the conjugate pair of HCl is the corresponding base Cl^– and the conjugate acid of NH₃ is the corresponding acid NH₄⁺ which can be formed in the course of the reaction.

• Conjugate pair of HCl = Cl^–
• Conjugate pair of NH₃ = NH₄⁺

7. HCl and Li₃N intermolecular forces

Co-valent and dipole interaction present in HCl and ionic interaction present in Li_3­N and also strong electrostatic force due to the high charge density of both elements, and strong ionic force present for NH₄Cl and LiCl as both are electrolytes and also van der waal’s force present.

8.     HCl + Li₃N reaction enthalpy

The enthalpy change, for the reaction 3 HCl + Li₃N = 3 LiCl + NH₃ is -828.77 KJ/mol whereas for the reaction 4 HCl + Li₃N = 3 LiCl + NH₄Cl is -514.47 KJ/mol. We have to calculate the reaction enthalpy separately for two reactions of the different stoichiometric proportions of HCl.

9.     Is HCl + Li₃N a buffer solution?

The reaction between HCl + Li₃N gives a buffer solution of NH₄Cl which can control the pH of the solution if any acid or base is added to this solution.

10. Is HCl + Li₃N a complete reaction?

The reaction between HCl + Li₃N completely react to form different products like LiCl, NH_3, and NH₄Cl with different stoichiometric proportions and utilized the reactants.

11. Is HCl + Li₃N an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

The reaction between HCl + Li₃N both two are exothermic reaction having different stoichiometric reactions due to the negative value of enthalpy in terms of thermodynamics, which release heat in course of the reaction and that heat provide energy for the reactions.

12. Is HCl + Li₃N a redox reaction?

The above reaction between HCl + Li₃N is a redox reaction where Cl gets reduced and N gets oxidized along with Li, where the oxidation number changes during the course of the reaction.

13. Is HCl + Li₃N a precipitation reaction

The reaction between HCl + Li₃N is a precipitation reaction because NH₄Cl gets precipitated when 4 moles of HCl react with Li₃N, but when it forms NH₃ due to its gaseous nature it cannot be soluble in water but not in precipitated form.

What is the Reaction Between HCl and CaCO3, and How Does it Compare to the Reaction Between HCl and Li3N?

The HCl CaCO3 reaction is an acid-base reaction where calcium carbonate (CaCO3) reacts with hydrochloric acid (HCl), producing carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and calcium chloride (CaCl2). On the other hand, the HCl Li3N reaction is a neutralization reaction where lithium nitride (Li3N) reacts with HCl to form lithium chloride (LiCl) and ammonia gas (NH3). Both reactions involve the combination of HCl with different compounds, resulting in distinct products. Hcl caco3 reaction elements explained.

14. Is HCl + Li₃N reversible or irreversible reaction?

The reaction between 4 moles of HCl + Li₃N is reversible in nature the reaction can proceed in both forward and backward directions but the reaction between 3 moles of HCl + Li₃N is irreversible causing NH₃ cannot reacts further.

15. Is HCl + Li₃N   displacement reaction?

Both reactions of Li₃N + HCl of higher or lower moles are displacement reactions because in both cases Li is displaced and attached to the Cl part and N is also displaced and attached to H.

Conclusion

The reaction between HCl and Li₃N can occur in different moles of HCl and get a different product, where higher moles of HCl gives NH₄Cl and lower moles give NH₃ along with NH₃. So, we can use this reaction for the production of NH₄Cl and NH₃ as well, and the reaction is can be used for the estimation of Chloride as well as nitride ions.

Read more facts on HCl:

Biswarup Chandra Dey

Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.