Compound pbO is more stable than pbo2 why - Chemistry - The p-Block Elements

Question

Compound pbO is more stable than pbo2 why?

Rashmi · Accepted Answer

PbO is much more stable than PbO2 due to inert pair
effect
Inert pair effect refers to the fact that "valence electrons in
an s orbital penetrate to the nucleus better than electrons in p
orbitals, and as a result they are more tightly bound to the
nucleus and less able to participate in bond formation A pair of
such electrons is called an "inert pair"
The lighter elements in Group IV tend to have a valency of +4,
but as we go down the group, the heavier elements form +2 ions,
that are more stable than +4 ions
And we know that Pb in PbO is in +2 oxidation state and in
PbO2, it is in +4 oxidation state This is the reason,
PbO2 decomposes readily to PbO to attain stability