Editing Lead(II) nitrate (section)

== History ==

Lead nitrate was first identified in 1597 by the [[alchemy|alchemist]] [[Andreas Libavius]], who called the substance ''plumbum dulce'', meaning "sweet lead", because of its taste.<ref name="libavius">{{cite book|first = Andreas|last = Libavius|author-link = Andreas Libavius|title = Alchemia Andreæ Libavii|location = Francofurti|publisher = Iohannes Saurius|year = 1595}}</ref> It is produced commercially by  reaction of metallic  [[lead]] with concentrated [[nitric acid]] in which it is sparingly soluble.<ref name=britannica1911>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lead |volume=16 |pages=314–320}}</ref><ref name=macgregor>{{cite book|first = John|last = Macgregor|title = Progress of America to year 1846|publisher = Whittaker & Co|location = London|year = 1847|isbn = 0-665-51791-2}}</ref> It has been produced as a raw material for making pigments such as [[chrome yellow]] (lead(II) chromate, PbCrO<sub>4</sub>) and [[chrome orange]] (basic lead(II) chromate, Pb<sub>2</sub>CrO<sub>5</sub>) and [[Naples yellow]]. These pigments were used for [[dyeing]] and printing [[calico (textile)|calico]] and other textiles.<ref name="pigments">{{cite book|title = A Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry|publisher = MacMillan|year = 1950|page = 838|first = James Riddick|last = Partington}}</ref> It has been used as an oxidizer in [[black powder]] and together with [[lead(II) azide|lead azide]] in special [[explosive material|explosives]].<ref name="pyrotechnica">{{cite journal|title = Lead nitrate as an oxidizer in blackpowder|journal = Pyrotechnica |volume = 4 |date = October 1978|pages=16–18|first = J. B.|last = Barkley|publisher = Pyrotechnica Publications|location = [[Post Falls, Idaho]]}}</ref>