PbO2
Lead dioxide · Lead(IV) oxide, Plattnerite
Lead dioxide is a dark brown, crystalline inorganic compound that acts as a powerful oxidizing agent. It is most widely recognized for its critical role as the active material on the positive plates of lead-acid batteries.
OPb
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Lead dioxide, aggregated across 4 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
0.04–0.70 eV
Range across DFT structures
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
169
4 databases, 31 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for PbO2, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P42/mnm (No. 136) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -5.836 | 9.34 |
| Pbcn (No. 60) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0015 | -5.834 | 9.62 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0566 | -5.779 | 9.40 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.1066 | -5.729 | 10.07 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.1305 | -5.705 | 9.94 |
| P21/m (No. 11) | monoclinic | 0.70 | 0.4417 | -5.394 | 6.61 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | triclinic | 0.04 | 0.7302 | -5.106 | 7.63 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 9.45 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.69 |
| Pmn21 (No. 31) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 5.27 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 3.59 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 3.68 |
Uses
Applications
Where Lead dioxide is used.
Lead-acid batteriesFireworks productionMatch manufacturingDye synthesisAnalytical chemistry
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lead dioxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is PbO2?
Lead dioxide is a dark brown, crystalline inorganic compound that acts as a powerful oxidizing agent. It is most widely recognized for its critical role as the active material on the positive plates of lead-acid batteries.
More questions
What is PbO2 used for?
Lead dioxide (PbO2) is used in lead-acid batteries, fireworks production, match manufacturing, dye synthesis, and analytical chemistry.
What is the band gap of PbO2?
Lead dioxide (PbO2) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.04–0.70 eV across 169 reported structures.
Is PbO2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 0.70 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is PbO2 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Lead dioxide (PbO2) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of PbO2?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Lead dioxide (PbO2) is tetragonal symmetry, space group P42/mnm (No. 136).
What is the density of PbO2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Lead dioxide (PbO2) is 9.34 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of PbO2 are known?
169 structures of PbO2 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 31 distinct space groups.
What elements does PbO2 contain?
Lead dioxide (PbO2) contains O and Pb (2 elements).
Where does the data for PbO2 come from?
PbO2 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, cod.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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