Lead carbonate
Chemical compound
Lead(II) carbonate is the chemical compound with the chemical formula PbCO3. It is a white, toxic solid. It occurs naturally as the mineral cerussite.
01Structure
Like all metal carbonates, lead(II) carbonate adopts a dense, highly crosslinked structure consisting of intact CO2−3 and metal cation sites. As verified by X-ray crystallography, the Pb(II) centers are seven-coordinate, being surrounded by multiple carbonate ligands. The carbonate centers are bonded bidentate to a single Pb and bridge to five other Pb sites.
02Production and use
Lead carbonate is manufactured by passing carbon dioxide into a cold dilute solution of lead(II) acetate, or by shaking a suspension of a lead salt more soluble than the carbonate with ammonium carbonate at a low temperature to avoid formation of basic lead carbonate.
- Pb(CH3COO)2 + [NH4]2CO3 → PbCO3 + 2 [NH4](CH3COO)
Lead carbonate is used as a catalyst to polymerize formaldehyde to poly(oxymethylene). It improves the bonding of chloroprene to wire.
03Regulations
The supply and use of this compound is restricted in Europe.
04Other lead carbonates
A number of lead carbonates are known:
- White lead, a basic lead carbonate, 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2
- Shannonite, PbCO3·PbO
- Plumbonacrite, 3PbCO3·Pb(OH)2·PbO
- PbCO3·2PbO
- Abellaite, NaPb2(OH)(CO3)2
- Leadhillite, 2PbCO3·PbSO4·Pb(OH)2
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lead carbonate”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- EntryWithCollCode6178.png by Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0
- EntryWithCollCode6178Hepta.png by Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0
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