Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen (O).
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Lead oxide in the context of Lead
Lead (/lɛd/ ) is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin plumbum) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal, denser than most common materials. Lead is soft, malleable, and has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, it appears shiny gray with a bluish tint, but tarnishes to dull gray on exposure to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element, and three of its isotopes are endpoints of major nuclear decay chains of heavier elements.
Lead is a relatively unreactive post-transition metal. Its weak metallic character is shown by its amphoteric behavior: lead and lead oxides react with both acids and bases, and it tends to form covalent bonds. Lead compounds usually occur in the +2 oxidation state rather than the +4 state common in lighter members of the carbon group, with exceptions mostly limited to organolead compounds. Like the lighter members of the group, lead can bond with itself, forming chains and polyhedral structures.
In this Dossier
Lead oxide in the context of Ceramic flux
Fluxes are substances, usually oxides, used in glasses, glazes and ceramic bodies to lower the high melting point of the main glass forming constituents, usually silica and alumina. A ceramic flux functions by promoting partial or complete liquefaction. The most commonly used fluxing oxides in a ceramic glaze contain lead, sodium, potassium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, barium, zinc, strontium, and manganese. These are introduced to the raw glaze as compounds, for example lead as lead oxide. Boron is considered by many to be a glass former rather than a flux.
Some oxides, such as calcium oxide, flux significantly only at high temperature. Lead oxide is the traditional low temperature flux used for crystal glass, but it is now avoided because it is toxic even in small quantities. It is being replaced by other substances, especially boron and zinc oxides.