Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 8, 2007

Lead(II) nitrate is a chemical compound, the inorganic salt of nitric acid and lead. It is a colourless crystal or white powder and a strong, stable oxidizer. Unlike most other lead(II) salts, it is soluble in water. Its main use from the Middle Ages, under the name plumb dulcis, has been as raw material in the production of many pigments. Since the twentieth century, it has been used industrially as a heat stabilizer in nylon and polyesters, and in coatings of photothermographic paper. Commercial production did not take place until the nineteenth century in Europe, and in the United States until after 1943, with a typical production process of metallic lead or lead oxide in nitric acid. Lead(II) nitrate is toxic and probably carcinogenic to humans. (more...)