Lead picrate is an organic

picrate A picrate is a salt containing the anion (O2N)3C6H2O− or an ester derivative of the picrate anion. These salts are often produced by reactions of picric acid (2,4,6-trinitrophenol). The picrate ion is intensely yellow, although many of its salt ...

salt. It is a sensitive and highly explosive compound that is typically found as a hydrate. Dry lead picrate is incredibly dangerous and cannot be handled without explosive decomposition occurring.

History

Lead picrate was first discovered in the early 1900s. It was investigated by numerous militaries during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a potential primary explosive, most notably

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for using it in blasting caps.

Preparation

Numerous

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

precursors can be used to create lead picrate. Two of the simplest examples of lead picrate synthesis are the addition of

lead(II) oxide Lead(II) oxide, also called lead monoxide, is the inorganic compound with the molecular formula Pb O. PbO occurs in two polymorphs: litharge having a tetragonal crystal structure, and massicot having an orthorhombic crystal structure. Modern ap ...

lead carbonate Lead(II) carbonate is the chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white solid with several practical uses, despite its toxicity. It occurs naturally as the mineral cerussite. Structure Like all metal carbonates, lead(II) carbonate a ...

with picric acid.

References

Picrates Lead(II) compounds {{explosive-stub