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Lead Foil/Sheet
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Thickness | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 97% (1N7) to 99.999% (5N) | 0.003 mm to 10 mm | 10 x 10 mm to 300 x 300 mm |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Serious health hazard
Key Features
Lead Foil is a dense, soft, and malleable elemental metal foil combining exceptional radiation attenuation performance, high density of 11.34 g/cm³, and EMI/RFI shielding capability in a conformable flat form:
Exceptional Radiation Attenuation Performance
Lead’s high atomic number (Z = 82) and mass attenuation coefficient make it the most widely used X-ray and gamma radiation shielding material. The foil form allows precise addition of shielding thickness to localised areas of imaging suites, synchrotron beamline instruments, and reactor infrastructure where fixed structural shielding is absent or insufficient.
High Density in a Conformable Format
Density of 11.34 g/cm³ provides maximum radiation attenuation per unit thickness of any readily available metallic foil, and the soft, malleable character allows the foil to conform to irregular surfaces, curved enclosures, and complex geometries that rigid shielding plates cannot match.
EMI/RFI Shielding Capability
Lead foil provides electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference shielding in vacuum system enclosures and instrument housings, where the dense, continuous metallic barrier attenuates both radiation and electromagnetic fields simultaneously.
Low Permeability for Chemical Shielding
The low gas and vapour permeability of solid lead foil supports use in chemical shielding enclosures, nuclear gloveboxes, and containment liners where barrier continuity against both radiation and chemical vapour penetration is required from the same material.
Ease of Conforming to Irregular Geometries
Lead’s softness allows foil to be pressed, folded, or draped over curved surfaces and into irregular enclosure geometries, enabling localised supplementary shielding where pre-engineered structural shielding is absent.
Industrial Applications
Lead Foil is used across medical imaging, nuclear instrumentation, synchrotron facilities, and vacuum systems wherever X-ray and gamma radiation attenuation, EMI shielding, and barrier continuity in conformable sheet form determine material selection:
- ✦ Radiological Shielding in Imaging Suites and Medical Facilities
- Used for localised supplementary radiological shielding in imaging suites, radiotherapy rooms, and nuclear medicine facilities, where the conformable character of lead foil allows shielding to be applied directly to surfaces, cable penetrations, and irregular structural features that cannot be covered by pre-formed sheet lead.
- ✦ Environmental Radiation Barriers and Nuclear Glovebox Linings
- Applied as environmental radiation barriers and nuclear glovebox linings, where lead’s low gas permeability and radiation attenuation provide both radiation shielding and chemical barrier function within the same continuous sheet material.
- ✦ Vacuum System Enclosures Requiring EMI/RFI Protection
- Used in vacuum system enclosures and instrument housings where both radiation shielding and EMI/RFI protection are simultaneously required, providing a continuous metallic barrier against both electromagnetic and ionising radiation sources.
- ✦ Localised Scatter Shielding in Synchrotron Beamline Facilities
- Applied as localised scatter shields in synchrotron beamline facilities and X-ray spectroscopy setups, where lead foil segments block specific radiation scatter paths or protect detector elements from direct or scattered beam exposure without obstructing the primary beam path.
- ✦ Multilayer Lead-Based Radiation Shielding Structure Research
- Used in research into lead-based multilayer composite shielding structures, novel radiation barrier geometries, and safe integration of lead shielding in composite systems, where the conformable foil form allows construction of controlled-thickness shielding specimens for attenuation measurement and optimization experiments.
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 82 |
| Crystal structure | Face centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Xe 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p² |
| Valences shown | 2, 4 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 207.2 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 0.18 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 207/ 22.1 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 208/ 52.4 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 206/ 24.1 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 204/ 1.4 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.175 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 5/ 68.8 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 3/ 31.9 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 4/ 42.3 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 15.03 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 7.42 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Hardness - Mohs | 1.5 |
| Material condition | Polycrystalline |
| Material condition | Sand cast |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.44 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.44 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 45.8 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 45.8 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 16.1 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 16.1 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 12 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 5.5 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 20.6@20°C |
| Superconductivity critical temperature( K ) | 7.196 |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.0042@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 0.44 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 1740 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 11.35@20 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 327.5 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 862 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 23.2 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 159@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 35.3@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 29@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Thickness | <0.01mm | ±25% |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | 0.01mm - 0.05mm | ±15% |
| Thickness | >0.05mm | ±10% |
| Linear dimension | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Linear dimension | >=100mm | +2 / -1% |