lead

• Description
• General information
• Physical data
• Radii
• Electronegativities
• Solid state structure
• Temperatures
• Enthalpies
• Ionization Enthalpies
• Isotopes
• Further information

Description

Lead is a bluish-white lustrous metal. It is very soft, highly malleable, ductile, and a relatively poor conductor of electricity. It is very resistant to corrosion but tarnishes upon exposure to air. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. Alloys include pewter and solder. Tetraethyl lead (PbEt₄) is still used in some grades of petrol (gasoline) but is being phased out on environmental grounds.

Lead isotopes are the end products of each of the three series of naturally occurring radioactive elements.

General information

Discoveror: Known to ancients
Date discovered:
Discovered at: n.a.
Meaning of name: From the Anglo-Saxon word "lead; Latin, plumbum" (the origin of the symbol Pb is the Latin word "plumbum" meaning "liquid silver"

Physical data

Standard state: solid at 298 K
Colour: bluish white
Density of solid at ambient temperature/kg m^-3: 11340
Molar volume/cm³: 18.26

Radii /pm

Atomic: 154
Covalent (single bond):
Pauling radius for the ion [Pb]^-: no data

Valence shell orbital radius maxima (R_max)

orbital	s	p	d	f
radius	121.2	148.2	56.2	18.3

Electronegativities

Both values are quoted on the Pauling scale.

Pauling: 2.1
Allred Rochow: 1.5

Crystal Structure

structure: ccp (cubic close-packed)

The following CrystalMaker image represents the solid state structure. For most elements, the most stable allotrope is illustrated. Try WebElements version 2 for interactive virtual reality and CHIME images.

Temperatures (/K)

melting point: 600.61
boiling point: 2022

Enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

fusion: 4.77
vaporization: 178

single bond enthalpies:

Pb-F	Pb-Cl	Pb-Br	Pb-I	Pb-Pb
331	243	201	205	161.5

Ionization enthalpies /kJ mol^-1

Number	Enthalpy
1st	715.5
2nd	1450.4
3rd	3081.5
4th	4080
5th	6640

Isotopes

This section gives some data for naturally occurring isotopes.

Nominal mass	Accurate mass	% natural abundance
204Pb	203.973020 (5)	1.4 (1)
206Pb	205.974440 (4)	24.1 (1)
207Pb	206.975872 (4)	22.1 (1)
208Pb	207.976627 (4)	52.4 (1)

Further Information

• Additional information about WebElements 1.2.2
• This is a licensed copy (here is the full list) of WebElements 1.2.2 and contains a subset of the material contained within the main version of WebElements (version 2)
• For further information please try WebElements version 2
• Sheffield Chemdex: perhaps the largest internet chemistry directory
• Sheffield Chemputer: interactive chemistry calculators on the WWW