Lithium aluminium hydride

Lithium aluminum hydride is an inorganic compound. Its chemical formula is LiAlH4. It is commonly abbreviated as LAH. It is a grey solid. It was discovered by Finholt, Bond and Schlesinger in 1947.

 Properties 
Lithium aluminium hydride is a colorless solid, but commercial samples are usually gray because of contamination. It can be purified by recrystallization from diethyl ether. It reacts violently with water. Some commercial samples contain mineral oil to stop reactions with moisture in the atmosphere.

 Uses 
Lithium aluminum hydride is used in organic chemistry as a reducing agent. Lithium aluminum hydride is most commonly used for the reduction of esters and carboxylic acids to primary alcohols.

 References 

Category:Lithium compounds
Category:Aluminium compounds