Chapter 2 - Properties of Lead

Lead has the advantages of low melting temperature and extreme malleability, which allow easy casting, shaping and joining of lead articles.  Besides this lead is slow to corrode and there are many examples of lead articles which have lasted for centuries.  Lead is relatively abundant. Lead concentrates can be easily extracted from the ore and winning the metal from the concentrate does not need much energy.  This reflects also in a fairly low price compared with other non-ferrous metals. Lead can be recycled as a secondary raw material from lead-acid batteries, from metallic scrap and from several composite consumer products in conjunction with existing recycling loops, for example for steel, zinc and copper, at moderate costs.

However, compared with other metals, lead has extremely low strength, exacerbated by its creep and fatigue behaviour.  Thus it is unsuitable for applications that require even moderate strength.  (Some of its mechanical properties are closer to those of higher strength plastics than most metals.)

Lead is rarely used in its pure form, as small alloying additions considerably increase its strength.  For applications requiring higher strengths, composites such as lead clad steel can be used.

The very high density of lead lends itself to some quite different applications, such as shielding against sound, vibrations and radiation, for example as protection for users of computer and TV screens.  For these purposes lead is used in metallic form or as lead compounds in lead glasses.

Some compounds of lead have their own useful properties, particularly in relation to colour and glass-forming ability.