Lead sulfate

Description

Lead sulfate at 100x (visible light left; UV light right)

A white, heavy powder that is used as a Pigment. Lead sulfate occurs naturally in the mineral anglesite. It is synthesized by adding Sulfuric acid to a lead salt solution. Lead sulfate is used in lithography and in weighting fabrics. It is also used as a paint Drier.

Synonyms and Related Terms

lead (II) sulfate; Pigment White 3; CI 77630; anglesite (mineral); lead sulphate (Br.); sulfato de plomo (Esp.); Metallweiss (Deut.); Milchweiss (Deut.); Bleisulfat (Deut.); Anglesit (Deut.); sulfate de plomb (Fr.); theiikos molybdos (Gr.); solfato di piombo (It.); loodsulfaat (Ned.); sulfato de chumbo (Port.); white lead; Flemish white; Mulhaus white; Mulhouse white; milk white

FTIR (MFA)

Raman (MFA)

XRD

SEM

EDS

XRF

Risks

Toxic by inhalation or ingestion.
Noncombustible.
Skin contact may cause irritation or ulcers.
Carcinogen, teratogen, suspected mutagen.
ThermoFisher: SDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in sodium hydroxide solution, concentrated hydriodic acid. Slightly solution in hot water. Insoluble in ethanol.

Transparent colorless particles showing high relief and moderate birefringence under crossed polars

Composition	PbSO4
CAS	7446-14-2
Mohs Hardness	2.75
Melting Point	1170 C
Density	6.12-6.39 g/ml
Molecular Weight	mol. wt. = 303.28
Refractive Index	1.878; 1.883; 1.895

Comparisons

Characteristics of Common White Pigments

Resources and Citations

M-C. Corbeil, P.J. Sirois, E.A. Moffatt, "The use of a white pigment patented by Freeman by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven" preprints ICOM, Lyons, 1999. p.369.

G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 444

Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 5444

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_sulfate (Accessed Sept. 7, 2005)

Susan E. Schur, Conservation Terminology: A review of Past & Current Nomenclature of Materials, Technology and Conservation, Spring (p.34-39); Summer (p.35-38); Fall (p.25-36), 1985