Editing Lithium (section)

=== Organic and polymer chemistry ===
[[Organolithium compound]]s are widely used in the production of polymer and fine-chemicals. In the polymer industry, which is the dominant consumer of these reagents, alkyl lithium compounds are [[catalyst]]s/[[radical initiator|initiators]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chemical.ihs.com/CEH/Public/Reports/681.7000/ |title=Organometallics |work=IHS Chemicals |date=February 2012 |access-date=2 January 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707175638/http://chemical.ihs.com/CEH/Public/Reports/681.7000/ |archive-date=7 July 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Anionic addition polymerization|anionic polymerization]] of [[functional group|unfunctionalized]] [[olefin]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Polymerization of 1,2-dimethylenecyclobutane by organolithium initiators |journal=Russian Chemical Bulletin |volume=37 |date=2005 |doi=10.1007/BF00962487 |pages=1782–1784 |author=Yurkovetskii, A. V. |first2=V. L. |first3=K. L. |last2=Kofman |last3=Makovetskii |issue=9 |s2cid=94017312}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1021/ma00159a001 |title=Functionalization of polymeric organolithium compounds. Amination of poly(styryl)lithium |date=1986 |author=Quirk, Roderic P. |journal=Macromolecules |volume=19 |pages=1291–1294 |first2=Pao Luo |last2=Cheng |bibcode=1986MaMol..19.1291Q |issue=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Advances in organometallic chemistry |author=Stone, F. G. A. |author2=West, Robert |publisher=Academic Press |date=1980 |isbn=978-0-12-031118-7 |page=55 |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_gai4kRfcMUC}} |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313170549/https://books.google.com/books?id=_gai4kRfcMUC |url-status=live}}</ref> For the production of fine chemicals, organolithium compounds function as strong bases and as reagents for the formation of [[carbon-carbon bond]]s. Organolithium compounds are prepared from lithium metal and [[alkyl halide]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=_SJ2upYN6DwC |page=192}} |page=192 |title=Synthetic approaches in organic chemistry |author=Bansal, Raj K. |date=1996 |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |isbn=978-0-7637-0665-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618033923/https://books.google.com/books?id=_SJ2upYN6DwC&pg=PA192 |archive-date=18 June 2016}}</ref>

Many other lithium compounds are used as reagents to prepare organic compounds. Some popular compounds include [[lithium aluminium hydride]] (LiAlH<sub>4</sub>), [[lithium triethylborohydride]], [[N-Butyllithium|''n''-butyllithium]] and [[Tert-Butyllithium|''tert''-butyllithium]].

[[File:US Navy 040626-N-5319A-006 An Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) MK-50 Torpedo is launched from guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84).jpg|thumb|The launch of a torpedo using lithium as fuel]]