Lead as an anode—Part 1 Available to Purchase

The use of lead and its alloys as an anode material in a wide variety of electrochemical and electrometallurgical processes is undoubtedly one of the most important applications of the metal. This article is consequently concerned with the anodic behaviour of lead in various electrolyte solutions but with emphasis upon sulphuric acid and chloride media. The anodic behaviour of lead is obviously dependent upon the nature of the solution. At one extreme there is sulphuric acid which permits the formation of a thin conducting layer of PbO2, at the other there is hydrochloric acid in which PbO2 formation cannot occur owing to the preferential formation of lead chloride and chlorocomplexes. Although the anodic behaviour of lead in sulphuric acid is critically discussed, the detailed electrochemistry of the lead‐acid accumulator is not considered since it has been exhaustively treated elsewhere. Accumulator technology is, however, referred to in the context of grid corrosion where relevant.