Electronic spectra of the oxides of lead and of some ternary lead oxide compounds

Abstract

Electronic spectra have been measured by diffuse reflectance techniques of PbO 2-I, PbO 2-II, Pb 12O 19, Pb 2O 3, Pb 3O 4, PbO-M, SrPbO 3, Sr 2PbO 4, Cd 2PbO 4, and CdPb 2O 5. The lead dioxides and compounds of cadmium, which have a high electrical conductivity, have an intense absorption feature in the near infrared. The other compounds, semiconducting or insulating, exhibit only an absorption edge in the visible or near ultraviolet. There is a linear relationship between the optical absorption edge of the lead oxides and the average number of valence electrons per lead ion.