A comparative study of H+ and Li+ interactions with oxygen bases

Ab initio SCF calculations have been performed to investigate the structural and electronic features of the interactions of H⁺ and Li⁺ with the oxygen bases H₂CO and OH^?. The data indicate that the OH interactions are primarily covalent while the LiO interactions are primarily electrostatic, although the LiO interaction in LiOH has considerable covalent character.