Raman Spectroscopy of Lithium Hydride Corrosion: Selection of an Appropriate Excitation Wavelength to Minimize Fluorescence

Abstract

The recent interest in a hydrogen-based fuel economy has renewed research into metal hydride chemistry. Many of these compounds react readily with water to release hydrogen gas and form a caustic. Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFT) has been used to study the hydrolysis reaction. The LiOH stretch appears at 3670 cm{sup -1}. Raman spectroscopy is a complementary technique that employs monochromatic excitation (laser) allowing access to the low energy region of the vibrational spectrum (<600 cm{sup -1}). Weak scattering and fluorescence typically prevent Raman from being used for many compounds. The role of Li{sub 2}O in the moisture reaction has not been fully studied for LiH. Li{sub 2}O can be observed by Raman while being hidden in the Infrared spectrum