Oxides formed on the (111) surface of lead I: Orthorhombic PbO or massicot

Abstract

The structure of oxide films formed on the (111) surface of polycrystalline but highly textured lead films was determined by transmission electron microscopy and diffraction. It was found that most of the lead surface was covered by a thin layer of yellow orthorhombic PbO or massicot. The yellow PbO grains were small compared with those of lead and tended to be oriented with their (001) plane parallel to the (111) surface of lead. There was also a tendency for the (010) plane of PbO to be parallel to one of the three { 1 10} lead planes that were perpendicular to the specimen plane. The preference for this orientation relationship is a little surprising. This is because there are orientation relationships that lead to a small misfit between lead and yellow lead oxide but this is not one of them. A small fraction of the lead surface was covered by small grains of red tetragonal PbO or litharge.