What is the Ionic Charge of Lead (Pb)? And Why?

The common Ionic Charges of Lead (Pb) are 2+ and 4+.

But the question is how can you find the ionic charge on Lead (Pb)?

Well, lead is a post-transition element and all the transition and post-transition elements have a variable ionic charge.

The ionic charge of lead (or any other transition or post transition elements) depends on what it is bonded with.

So let’s try to find out the ionic charge of Lead (Pb) using some examples.

If you are a visual learner like me, then here is a short two minute video for you.

How to find the ionic charge of Lead (Pb)?

As I mentioned earlier, the ionic charge of Lead (Pb) can be found out by looking at what it is bonded with.

So let’s take examples of compounds of Lead (Pb) like PbCl₂, PbCl₄, PbO, etc.

Example 1: PbCl₂
In PbCl₂, the Lead (Pb) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
You know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So you can easily say that the ionic charge of Pb should be 2+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Lead in PbCl₂ is 2+.

Example 2: PbCl₄
In PbCl₄, the Lead (Pb) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
And again, you know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So here also you can easily say that the ionic charge of Pb should be 4+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Lead in PbCl₄ is 4+.

Example 3: PbO
Similarly in PbO, the Lead (Pb) is bonded to Oxygen (O).
And you know that the ionic charge of O is 2-.
So from this, you can easily say that the ionic charge of Pb should be 2+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Lead in PbO is 2+.

In this way, Lead can have variable charges depending on what it is bonded to.

But as seen from the above examples,
The most common charges of Lead (Pb) are 2+ and 4+.

I hope you have understood why lead has variable ionic charges.

Check out some other related topics for your practice.

Related topics:
Charge of Potassium (K)
Charge of Calcium (Ca)
Charge of Iron (Fe)
Charge of Magnesium (Mg)
Charge of Hydrogen (H)