Lead NMR Spectroscopy

For many years tetraethyl lead was used as the principal fuel additive to enhance the octane rating of gasoline. In the mid-1970s the use of this substance was reduced because of the environmental hazards of lead and because it poisons catalytic converters. Nowadays, the main application of lead metal and lead oxide is in lead-acid batteries.^[1] In this application the cathode of the cell consists of lead dioxide packed on a metal grid and the anode is composed of lead metal. The electrochemical reaction is shown in the following equation:^[2]

In terms of NMR properties, ²⁰⁷Pb is NMR active. It has a spin of ½ and its natural abundance is 22.1%. Lead has a very large chemical shift range and the signals are very sharp, as expected for a nucleus with ½ spin.^[3]

We’re excited to announce the incorporation of ²⁰⁷Pb to the NMReady-60PRO family. In the image below you can see the first lead spectrum acquired in one of our NMReady-60 instruments!

Figure 1. 207Pb spectrum of Pb(NO3)2

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our instruments or if you want to see whether our instrument will be suitable for your chemistry!

References

^[1]Brown T. E., LeMay H. E., Bursten B. E., Chemistry: the central science, Prentice Hall, 2012.
^[2]https://www.ausetute.com.au/pbbattery.html (Retrieved February 01, 2019)
^[3]http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/nmr/techniques/1d/row6/pb.html (Retrieved February 01, 2019)