What is Lead (II) iodide?

Lead (II) iodide (PbI2) or plumbous iodide is a bright yellow solid at room temperature, that reversibly becomes brick red by heating. In its crystalline form it is used as a detector material for high energy photons including x-rays and gamma rays.
Lead (II) iodide is toxic due to its lead content. In the nineteenth century it was used as an artists' pigment under the name Iodine Yellow, but it was too unstable to be useful.
Lead iodide can be obtained as a yellow precipitate by reacting solutions of lead(II) nitrate and potassium iodide:
Pb(NO3)2(aq) + 2KI(aq) → PbI2(s) + 2KNO3(aq)
It is sparingly soluble in cold water but quite soluble in hot water, yielding a colorless solution; on cooling it crystallizes as yellow hexagonal platelets.
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