View source for Lead(II) azide

{{chembox
| Verifiedfields = changed
| Watchedfields = changed
| verifiedrevid = 440042195
| ImageFile = Lead(II)azide.svg
| ImageSize = 200px
| ImageName = Skeletal formula of lead(II) azide
| ImageFile1 = Lead(II)-azide-xtal-a-2x2x2-3D-bs-17.png
| ImageFile2 = Lead azide (modified beta) 01.JPG
| ImageSize2 = 200px
| ImageName2 = Lead(II) azide (modified beta)
| IUPACName = Diazidolead
| OtherNames =
|Section1={{Chembox Identifiers
| CASNo_Ref = {{cascite|correct|??}}
| CASNo = 13424-46-9
| UNII_Ref = {{fdacite|correct|FDA}}
| UNII = 677QUF0Z7P
| UNNumber = 0129
| PubChem = 61600
| SMILES = [N-]=[N+]=N[Pb]N=[N+]=[N-]
| StdInChI = 1S/2N3.Pb/c2*1-3-2;/q2*-1;+2
| StdInChI_Ref = {{stdinchicite|changed|chemspider}}
| InChI = 1S/2N3.Pb/c2*1-3-2;/q2*-1;+2
| InChIKey = ISEQAARZRCDNJH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
| StdInChIKey = ISEQAARZRCDNJH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
| StdInChIKey_Ref = {{stdinchicite|changed|chemspider}}
| EINECS = 236-542-1
| ChemSpiderID_Ref = {{chemspidercite|changed|chemspider}}
| ChemSpiderID = 55508
}}
|Section2={{Chembox Properties
| Formula = {{chem2|Pb(N3)2}}
| Pb=1|N=6
| Appearance = White powder
| Density = 4.71 g/cm<sup>3</sup>
| MeltingPtC = 190
| MeltingPt_notes = decomposes,<ref name=pubchem>{{PubChemLink|61600}}</ref> explodes at 350&nbsp;°C<ref name=pphoic />
| BoilingPt =
| Solubility = 2.3 g/100 mL (18 °C) <br> 9.0 g/100 mL (70 °C)<ref name=pphoic>{{cite book|last = Pradyot|first = Patnaik|year = 2003|title = Handbook of Inorganic Chemicals|publisher = The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.|isbn = 0-07-049439-8}}</ref>
| SolubleOther = Very soluble in [[acetic acid]]<br> Insoluble in [[ammonia]] solution,<ref name=pphoic /> [[ammonium hydroxide|NH<sub>4</sub>OH]]<ref name=pubchem />
}}
|Section3={{Chembox Thermochemistry
| DeltaHf = 462.3 kJ/mol<ref name=pphoic />
}}
|Section4={{Chembox Explosive
| ShockSens = High
| FrictionSens = High
| DetonationV = 5180 m/s
| REFactor =
}}
|Section5={{Chembox Hazards
| MainHazards = Harmful, explosive
| GHSPictograms = {{GHS01}}{{GHS06}}{{GHS08}}{{GHS09}}<ref name=ocsr>{{cite web|url = http://www.ocsresponds.com/ref/msds/ghs/2014/English/Electric%20Detonators%20Division%201.4.pdf|title = Safety Data Sheet of Electronic Detonators, Division 1.4|date = 2014-03-21|website = ocsresponds.com|publisher = Owen Oil Tools LP|access-date = 2014-06-09}}</ref>
| GHSSignalWord = Danger
| HPhrases = {{H-phrases|200|302|332|360|373|410}}<ref name=ocsr />
| PPhrases =
| FlashPt =
| AutoignitionPtC = 350
| NFPA-H = 3
| NFPA-F = 0
| NFPA-R = 4
| NFPA_ref = <ref name=hmgsi4>{{cite book|last = Keller|first = J.J.|year = 1978|title = Hazardous Materials Guide: Suppl, Issue 4|publisher = Abel Guerrero}}</ref>
}}
|Section8={{Chembox Related
| OtherAnions =
| OtherCations = [[Potassium azide]]<br> [[Sodium azide]]<br> [[Copper(II) azide]]
| OtherFunction =
| OtherFunction_label =
| OtherCompounds = [[Hydrazoic acid]]
}}
}}
'''Lead(II) azide ''' {{chem2|[[Lead|Pb]]([[Nitrogen|N]]3)2}} is an [[inorganic compound]]. More so than other [[azide]]s, it is explosive. It is used in [[detonator]]s to initiate [[secondary explosive]]s.<ref name="G&E">{{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd|page=433}}</ref> In a commercially usable form, it is a white to [[Buff (colour)|buff]] powder.

==Preparation and handling==
Lead(II) azide is prepared by the reaction of [[sodium azide]] and [[lead(II) nitrate]] in aqueous solution.<ref name=Ull>{{Ullmann|author1=Jacques Boileau |author2=Claude Fauquignon |author3=Bernard Hueber |author4=Hans H. Meyer|title=Explosives|year=2009|doi= 10.1002/14356007.a10_143.pub2}}</ref><ref name="G&E" /> [[Lead(II) acetate]] can also be used.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lambdasyn.org/synfiles/bleiazid.htm|title=λ » LambdaSyn – Synthese von Bleiazid|website=www.lambdasyn.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Verneker | first1 = V. R. Pai | last2 = Forsyth | first2 = Arthur C. | title = Mechanism for controlling the reactivity of lead azide | journal = The Journal of Physical Chemistry | volume = 72 | pages = 111–115 | year = 1968 | doi = 10.1021/j100847a021| url = http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=AD0634629 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170922143221/http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=AD0634629 | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 22, 2017 | url-access = subscription }}</ref>

Thickeners such as [[dextrin]] or [[polyvinyl alcohol]] are often added to the solution to stabilize the precipitated product. In fact, it is normally shipped in a dextrinated solution that lowers its sensitivity.<ref>{{cite book |last= Fedoroff |first= Basil T. |author2=Henry A. Aaronson |author3=Earl F. Reese |author4=Oliver E. Sheffield |author5=George D. Clift  |title= Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items (Vol. 1) |publisher= US Army Research and Development Command TACOM, ARDEC |year= 1960 }}</ref>

==Production history==
Lead azide in its pure form was first prepared by [[Theodor Curtius]] in 1891.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1002/cber.189102402192| issn = 1099-0682| volume = 24| issue = 2| pages = 3341–3349| last = Curtius| first = Th.| title = Neues vom Stickstoffwasserstoff| journal = Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft| access-date = 2025-03-26| date = 1891| url = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cber.189102402192}}</ref> Due to sensitivity and stability concerns, the dextrinated form of lead azide (MIL-L-3055) was developed in the 1920s and 1930s with large scale production by DuPont Co beginning in 1932.<ref>{{cite book |title=Energetic Materials, Technology of the Inorganic Azides |volume=2 |publisher=Plenum Press |year=1977 |last1=Fair |first1=Harry David |last2=Walker |first2=Raymond F.}}</ref> Detonator development during World War II resulted in the need for a form of lead azide with a more [[brisance|brisant]] output. RD-1333 lead azide (MIL-DTL-46225), a version of lead azide with sodium [[carboxymethyl cellulose]] as a precipitating agent, was developed to meet that need. The Vietnam War saw an accelerated need for lead azide and it was during this time that Special Purpose Lead Azide (MIL-L-14758) was developed; the US government also began stockpiling lead azide in large quantities. After the Vietnam War, the use of lead azide dramatically decreased. Due to the size of the US stockpile, the manufacture of lead azide in the US ceased completely by the early 1990s. In the 2000s, concerns about the age and stability of stockpiled lead azide led the US government to investigate methods to dispose of its stockpiled lead azide and obtain new manufacturers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=T.|title=IEE Seminar on Safety Assurance |chapter=Rolling stock safety assurance &#91;railway safety&#93; |date=2005 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/ic:20050419 |volume=2005|page=18|publisher=IEE|doi=10.1049/ic:20050419|doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |isbn=0-86341-574-1}}</ref>

==Explosive characteristics==
Lead azide is highly sensitive and usually handled and stored under water in insulated rubber containers. It will explode after a fall of around 150&nbsp;mm (6&nbsp;in) or in the presence of a static discharge of 7 millijoules. Its [[Explosive velocity|detonation velocity]] is around {{convert|5180|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thurman, James T.|title=Practical Bomb Scene Investigation, Third Edition.|date=2017|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-351-85761-1|edition=3rd|location=Milton|oclc=982451395}}</ref>

[[Ammonium acetate]] and [[sodium dichromate]] are used to destroy small quantities of lead azide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tpub.com/gunners/7.htm|title=Primary (Initiating) Explosives|website=www.tpub.com|access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref>

Lead azide has immediate deflagration to detonation transition (DDT), meaning that even small amounts undergo full detonation (after being hit by flame or static electricity).{{cn|date=September 2023}}

Lead [[azide]] reacts with [[copper]], [[zinc]], [[cadmium]], or alloys containing these metals to form other azides. For example, [[copper azide]] is even more explosive and too sensitive to be used commercially.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lazari|first1=Gerasimi|last2=Stamatatos|first2=Theocharis C.|last3=Raptopoulou|first3=Catherine P.|last4=Psycharis|first4=Vassilis|last5=Pissas|first5=Michael|last6=Perlepes|first6=Spyros P.|last7=Boudalis|first7=Athanassios K.|date=2009-04-13|title=A metamagnetic 2D copper(II)-azide complex with 1D ferromagnetism and a hysteretic spin-flop transition|url=https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2009/DT/b823423j|journal=Dalton Transactions|language=en|issue=17|pages=3215–3221|doi=10.1039/B823423J|pmid=19421623|issn=1477-9234|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Lead azide was a component of the six .22 (5.6 mm) caliber Devastator rounds fired from a [[Röhm RG-14]] revolver by [[John Hinckley Jr.]] in his assassination attempt on U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] on March 30, 1981. The rounds consisted of lead azide centers with lacquer-sealed aluminum tips designed to explode upon impact. A strong probability exists that the bullet which struck White House press secretary [[James S. Brady|James Brady]] in the head exploded. The remaining bullets that hit people, including the shot that hit President Reagan, did not explode.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/04/04/the-exploding-bullets/e1bef826-a6f5-47e9-bc32-ff3914e1747b/|title=The Exploding Bullets|first1=Pete|last1=Earley|first2=Charles|last2=Babcock|date=April 4, 1981|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Taubman|first1=Philip|date=1981-04-03|title=Explosive Bullet Struck Reagan, F.b.i. Discovers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/03/us/explosive-bullet-struck-reagan-fbi-discovers.html|access-date=2020-05-18|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Lead styphnate]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Lead(II) azide}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080111154608/http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/50.html National Pollutant Inventory – Lead and Lead Compounds Fact Sheet]

{{Lead compounds}}
{{Azides}}

[[Category:Azides]]
[[Category:Lead(II) compounds]]
[[Category:Inorganic compounds]]
[[Category:Explosive chemicals]]