Lead (/lɛd/) is a chemical element in the carbon group with symbol Pb (from Latin:plumbum) and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable and heavy Post Transition Metal. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air.
It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table having trivial name tetrels, crystallogens.
Lead Facts
Read key information and facts about element Lead
Name | Lead |
Atomic Number | 82 |
Atomic Symbol | Pb |
Atomic Weight | 207.2 |
Phase | Solid |
Color | SlateGray |
Appearance | metallic gray |
Classification | Post Transition Metal |
Group in Periodic Table | 14 |
Group Name | carbon family |
Period in Periodic Table | period 6 |
Block in Periodic Table | p -block |
Electronic Configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2 |
Electronic Shell Structure (Electrons per shell) | 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 4 |
Melting Point | 600.61 K |
Boiling Point | 2022 K |
CAS Number | CAS7439-92-1 |
How to Locate Lead on Periodic Table
Periodic table is arranged by atomic number, number of protons in the nucleus which is same as number of electrons. The atomic number increases from left to right. Periodic table starts at top left ( Atomic number 1) and ends at bottom right (atomic number 118). Therefore you can directly look for atomic number 82 to find Lead on periodic table.
Another way to read periodic table and locate an element is by using group number (column) and period number (row). To locate Lead on periodic table look for cross section of group 14 and period 6 in the modern periodic table.
Lead History
The element Lead was discovered by Africans in year 7000 BCE . Lead was first isolated by Abydos, Egypt in 3800 BCE. Lead derived its name from English word (plumbum in Latin).
It is believed that lead smelting began at least 9,000 years ago, and the oldest known artifact of lead is a statuette found at the temple of Osiris on the site of Abydos dated circa 3800 BCE.
Lead Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us
The table below shows the abundance of Lead in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body.
ppb by weight (1ppb =10^-7 %) | ppb by atoms (1ppb =10^-7 %) | |
---|---|---|
Abundance in Universe | 10 | 0.06 |
Abundance in Sun | 10 | 0.07 |
Abundance in Meteorites | 1400 | 100 |
Abundance in Earth's Crust | 10000 | 1000 |
Abundance in Oceans | 0.03 | 0.00090 |
Abundance in Humans | 1700 | 50 |
Crystal Structure of Lead
The solid state structure of Lead is Face Centered Cubic.
The Crystal structure can be described in terms of its unit Cell. The unit Cells repeats itself in three dimensional space to form the structure.
Unit Cell Parameters
The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges Lattice Constants (a, b and c)
a | b | c |
---|---|---|
495.08 pm | 495.08 pm | 495.08 pm |
and the angles between them Lattice Angles (alpha, beta and gamma).
alpha | beta | gamma |
---|---|---|
π/2 | π/2 | π/2 |
The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( xi, yi, zi) measured from a reference lattice point.
The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space are described by the 230 space groups (219 distinct types, or 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct.
Space Group Name | Fm_ 3m |
Space Group Number | 225 |
Crystal Structure | Face Centered Cubic |
Number of atoms per unit cell | 4 |

The number of atoms per unit cell in a simple cubic, face-centered cubic and body-centred cubic are 1,4,2 respectively.
Lead Atomic and Orbital Properties
Lead atoms have 82 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 4] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) 3P0.
Atomic Number | 82 |
Number of Electrons (with no charge) | 82 |
Number of Protons | 82 |
Mass Number | 207 |
Number of Neutrons | 125 |
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level) | 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 4 |
Electron Configuration | [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2 |
Valence Electrons | 6s2 6p2 |
Valence (Valency) | 4 |
Main Oxidation States | 2, 4 |
Oxidation States | -4, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 |
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) | 3P0 |
Bohr Atomic Model of Lead - Electrons per energy level

n | s | p | d | f |
---|
Ground State Electronic Configuration of Lead - neutral Lead atom
Abbreviated electronic configuration of Lead
The ground state abbreviated electronic configuration of Neutral Lead atom is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2. The portion of Lead configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Xe]. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used. This is important as it is the Valence electrons 6s2 6p2, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.
Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Lead
Complete ground state electronic configuration for the Lead atom, Unabbreviated electronic configuration
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2
Electrons are filled in atomic orbitals as per the order determined by the Aufbau principle, Pauli Exclusion Principle and Hund’s Rule.

Atomic Structure of Lead
Lead atomic radius is 154 pm, while it's covalent radius is 147 pm.
Atomic Radius Calculated | 154 pm (1.54 Å) |
Atomic Radius Empirical | 180 pm (1.8 Å) |
Atomic Volume | 18.27 cm3/mol |
Covalent Radius | 147 pm (1.47 Å) |
Van der Waals Radius | 202 pm |
Neutron Cross Section | 0.171 |
Neutron Mass Absorption | 0.00003 |
Atomic Spectrum of Lead
Lead Chemical Properties: Lead Ionization Energies and electron affinity
The electron affinity of Lead is 35.1 kJ/mol.
Valence | 4 |
Electronegativity | 2.33 |
ElectronAffinity | 35.1 kJ/mol |
Ionization Energy of Lead
Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Lead
Ionization energy number | Enthalpy - kJ/mol |
---|---|
1st | 715.6 |
2nd | 1450.5 |
3rd | 3081.5 |
4th | 4083 |
5th | 6640 |
Lead Physical Properties
Refer to below table for Lead Physical Properties
Density | 11.34 g/cm3(when liquid at m.p density is $10.66 g/cm3) |
Molar Volume | 18.27 cm3/mol |
Elastic Properties
Young Modulus | 16 |
Shear Modulus | 5.6 GPa |
Bulk Modulus | 46 GPa |
Poisson Ratio | 0.44 |
Hardness of Lead - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element
Mohs Hardness | 1.5 MPa |
Vickers Hardness | - |
Brinell Hardness | 38.3 MPa |
Lead Electrical Properties
Lead is Conductor of electricity. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties ofLead
Electrical Conductivity | 4800000 S/m |
Resistivity | 2.1e-7 m Ω |
Superconducting Point | 7.2 |
Lead Heat and Conduction Properties
Thermal Conductivity | 35 W/(m K) |
Thermal Expansion | 0.0000289 /K |
Lead Magnetic Properties
Magnetic Type | Diamagnetic |
Curie Point | - |
Mass Magnetic Susceptibility | -1.5e-9 m3/kg |
Molar Magnetic Susceptibility | -3.11e-10 m3/mol |
Volume Magnetic Susceptibility | -0.000017 |
Optical Properties of Lead
Refractive Index | - |
Acoustic Properties of Lead
Speed of Sound | 1260 m/s |
Lead Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics
Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Lead
Melting Point | 600.61 K (327.46°C, 621.4280000000001 °F) |
Boiling Point | 2022 K (1748.85°C, 3179.93 °F) |
Critical Temperature | - |
Superconducting Point | 7.2 |
Enthalpies of Lead
Heat of Fusion | 4.77 kJ/mol |
Heat of Vaporization | 178 kJ/mol |
Heat of Combustion | - |
Lead Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Lead
Lead has 38 isotopes, with between 178 and 215 nucleons. Lead has 4 stable naturally occuring isotopes.
Isotopes of Lead - Naturally occurring stable Isotopes: 204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb.
Isotope | Z | N | Isotope Mass | % Abundance | T half | Decay Mode |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
178Pb | 82 | 96 | 178 | Synthetic | ||
179Pb | 82 | 97 | 179 | Synthetic | ||
180Pb | 82 | 98 | 180 | Synthetic | ||
181Pb | 82 | 99 | 181 | Synthetic | ||
182Pb | 82 | 100 | 182 | Synthetic | ||
183Pb | 82 | 101 | 183 | Synthetic | ||
184Pb | 82 | 102 | 184 | Synthetic | ||
185Pb | 82 | 103 | 185 | Synthetic | ||
186Pb | 82 | 104 | 186 | Synthetic | ||
187Pb | 82 | 105 | 187 | Synthetic | ||
188Pb | 82 | 106 | 188 | Synthetic | ||
189Pb | 82 | 107 | 189 | Synthetic | ||
190Pb | 82 | 108 | 190 | Synthetic | ||
191Pb | 82 | 109 | 191 | Synthetic | ||
192Pb | 82 | 110 | 192 | Synthetic | ||
193Pb | 82 | 111 | 193 | Synthetic | ||
194Pb | 82 | 112 | 194 | Synthetic | ||
195Pb | 82 | 113 | 195 | Synthetic | ||
196Pb | 82 | 114 | 196 | Synthetic | ||
197Pb | 82 | 115 | 197 | Synthetic | ||
198Pb | 82 | 116 | 198 | Synthetic | ||
199Pb | 82 | 117 | 199 | Synthetic | ||
200Pb | 82 | 118 | 200 | Synthetic | ||
201Pb | 82 | 119 | 201 | Synthetic | ||
202Pb | 82 | 120 | 202 | Synthetic | ||
203Pb | 82 | 121 | 203 | Synthetic | ||
204Pb | 82 | 122 | 204 | 1.4% | Stable | N/A |
205Pb | 82 | 123 | 205 | Synthetic | ||
206Pb | 82 | 124 | 206 | 24.1% | Stable | N/A |
207Pb | 82 | 125 | 207 | 22.1% | Stable | |
208Pb | 82 | 126 | 208 | 52.4% | Stable | N/A |
209Pb | 82 | 127 | 209 | Synthetic | ||
210Pb | 82 | 128 | 210 | Synthetic | ||
211Pb | 82 | 129 | 211 | Synthetic | ||
212Pb | 82 | 130 | 212 | Synthetic | ||
213Pb | 82 | 131 | 213 | Synthetic | ||
214Pb | 82 | 132 | 214 | Synthetic | ||
215Pb | 82 | 133 | 215 | Synthetic |
Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines
Database Search
List of unique identifiers to search the element in various chemical registry databases
Database | Identifier number |
---|---|
CAS Number - Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) | CAS7439-92-1 |
RTECS Number | RTECSOF7525000 |
CID Number | CID5352425 |
Gmelin Number | - |
NSC Number | - |
Compare Lead with other elements
Compare Lead with all Group 14 elements
Compare Lead with all Period 6 elements
Compare Lead with all Post Transition Metal elements
FAQs
What is the electronic configuration of Lead?
The electronic configuration of Lead is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2.
What is the abbreviated electronic configuration of Lead?
The abbreviated electronic configuration of Lead is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2. To form abbreviated notation of electronic configuration, the completely filled subshells are replaced by the noble gas of the preceding period in square brackets.
What is the symbol of Lead?
Symbol of Lead is Pb. Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82.
What is the position of Lead in the Periodic Table?
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is the 82 element on the periodic table. It is located in group 14 and period 6 in the modern periodic table.
What is the atomic number of Lead?
The atomic number of Lead is 82.
What is the color of Lead?
Lead is of SlateGray color.
Who discovered Lead?
The element Lead was discovered by Africans in year 7000 BCE . Lead was first isolated by Abydos, Egypt in 3800 BCE.
How many valence electrons does a Lead atom have?
Lead has 4 valence electrons. Lead has 82 electrons out of which 4 valence electrons are present in the 6s2 6p2 outer orbitals of atom.
What is the melting Point of Lead?
Melting Point of Lead is 600.61 K.
What is the boiling Point of Lead?
Boiling Point of Lead is 2022 K.
What is the melting Point of Lead in Kelvin?
Melting Point of Lead in Kelvin is 600.61 K.
What is the boiling Point of Lead in Kelvin?
Boiling Point of Lead in Kelvin is 2022 K.
What is the electronic configuration of Lead 82?
The electronic configuration of Lead will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2.
How do you write the electron configuration for Lead?
The electronic configuration of Lead will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p2.