Lead compounds

Inorganic lead(IV) compounds are typically strong oxidants or exist only in highly acidic solutions.

[3] Lead(II) oxide is also soluble in alkali hydroxide solutions to form the corresponding plumbite salt.

[3] Lead dioxide dissolves in alkali hydroxide solutions to form the corresponding plumbates.

[5] Thanks to the similarity, both allotropes can exist under standard conditions (beta with small (10−5 relative) impurities, such as Si, Ge, Mo, etc.).

If the heating occurs in presence of air, the compounds decomposes to give the monoxide and the sulfate.

[7] The compounds are almost insoluble in water, weak acids, and (NH4)2S/(NH4)2S2 solution is the key for separation of lead from analytical groups I to III elements, tin, arsenic, and antimony.

The compounds dissolve in nitric and hydrochloric acids, to give elemental sulfur and hydrogen sulfide, respectively.

[2] Heating lead carbonate with hydrogen fluoride yields the hydrofluoride, which decomposes to the difluoride when it melts.

Other dihalides are received upon heating lead(II) salts with the halides of other metals; lead dihalides precipitate to give white orthorhombic crystals (diiodide form yellow hexagonal crystals).

They can also be obtained by direct elements reaction at temperature exceeding melting points of dihalides.

The best-known compounds are the two simplest plumbane derivatives: tetramethyllead (TML) and tetraethyllead (TEL); however, the homologs of these, as well as hexaethyldilead (HEDL), are of lesser stability.

Pyrolysis yields elemental lead and alkyl radicals; their interreaction causes the synthesis of HEDL.

[16] Lead(II) sulfate is poorly soluble, as can be seen in the following diagram showing addition of SO2−4 to a solution containing 0.1 M of Pb2+.