Regularities in Melting Points of Lithium Halides: Is LiH Anomalous?

Abstract

Using experimental data for the melting temperature T _m for four Li halides (F to I), it is demonstrated that T _m Z ^1/3 is close to constant, ≅ (2530 ± 250) K, where Z is the atomic number of the halogen. This formula is not appropriate for what sometimes is considered the simplest halide, LiH, and therefore alternatives are investigated which involve a characteristic electrostatic energy e ²/εs, with s the internuclear separation and ε the static dielectric constant.

Keywords:

• Characteristic Electrostatic Energy
• Dielectric Constant