[dudeman]

What happens to Li when it is introduced into Anhydrous NH3. From my understanding the liquid turns a dark blue color and this is what leads me to this question. I know that solutions sometimes turn blue when they become hydrated but I'm sure this is not the case. Li reacts with water forming lithium hydroxide and hydrogen but from what I have read there is no evolution of gasses while the Li dissolves. What is this blue color? I have found that one compound of lithium is said to have a blue color (lithium bronze) but I cannot see how this would form by adding Li to NH3.

[cth]

I didn't find anything with lithium, but I found something with sodium:
http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/CCA/CCA8/MAIN/8/98/07/movie.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JefumJFatsw
Nice color.  Remark, I have never done that reaction myself.

When you have a strong color with:
- no transition metal or lanthanide,
- no extended conjugation of pi-bonds
It makes me think of a radical, an unpaired electron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_(chemistry), which are often strongly colored. In this case, sodium metal gives away one electron to NH₃, which becomes NH₃^.- anion.

[stewie griffin]

Yes the sodium does the same this as lithium You could check out the Birch reduction for more info. The blue color is the "sovlated electron". so I'm not sure how to picture it mentally, but as cth said, it's basically an electron swimming around in ammonium.

[dudeman]

Awesome guys! Thanks!!!