Historically, the primary use of lead oxychlorides was in a mixture with other lead compounds (e.g.
lead carbonate "
white lead") as a pigment in
lead paints. The lead compounds were first fused, and the product then ground to fine powder. The powder was then suspended in
drying oils (e.g. linseed), to produce e.g. Pattinson's white (PbCl2 2Pb(OH)2) or Turner's yellow (PbCl2 5-7PbO). Turner's yellow is also known as Patent yellow, Cassel yellow, Montpelier yellow, Kassler yellow, mineral yellow, and Verona yellow. In the late 19th century, lead oxychlorides were briefly used in the manufacture of electrodes for lead-acid batteries. Patented by
Charles Francis Brush in 1876, the depressions in a ribbed or grooved sheet of lead were filled with pulverized lead oxychloride (later also
lead sulfate). In a second step, the grooved sheet was covered with paper and horizontally suspended in a salt or acid solution, to which a zinc plate was then also added. The mixture in the grooved sheet's depressions was then electrolytically reduced to sponge lead, forming a functional lead-acid cell electrode (if subsequently used as a positive electrode, the sponge lead was converted to
lead peroxide during the cell's initial "formation" charge). Brush's technique was superseded by the now standard
Faure pasting method in 1880. ==References==