hodges
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Silver Nitrate - anything interesting?
Back when I was in high school I remember wanting to get some silver nitrate. Now I can't remember what for. I recently found a place to buy it
for around $10 an ounce, but a search on the internet did not reveal too many hobby uses. The only thing I can think of is maybe I was interested in
making photosensive stuff. In my searching I did stumble across some explosive compounds that can be made with silver nitrate, but I'm sure
thats not what I wanted it for back then and I'm really not interested in experimenting with high explosives now either. But are there any other
interesting reactions?
Hodges
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vulture
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A nice reaction is to coat the inside of a flask with a silver coating.
This can be done with silvernitrate and dextrose. I'll post the procedure if you're interested.
One shouldn't accept or resort to the mutilation of science to appease the mentally impaired.
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JustMe
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Lots of "interesting" stuff can be done with Silver Nitrate.
The "classic" high school experiment involves displacing the silver ions with copper, while growing stalactites of silver. The idea is to
put an open "coil" of copper wire (or a copper strip) in a solution of silver nitrate. Silver stalactites grow on the copper and the
solution turns blue from the copper ions. When you're done you can collect the silver. Just make sure you use distilled water!
Just be careful with the solid or solution, they are caustic to the skin, and potentially blinding to the eyes.
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chemoleo
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In fact this sounds like a nice way of purifying impure silver alloys - dissolve in HNO3 and do the reaction with Cu - only metals more
electropositive than Cu will react with the Cu! and there aren't many, particularly in things such as silver forks etc 
[Edited on 27-1-2004 by chemoleo]
Never Stop to Begin, and Never Begin to Stop...
Tolerance is good. But not with the intolerant! (Wilhelm Busch)
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Polverone
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another nice way
Dissolve your impure silver (jewelry, forks, coins, etc.) in HNO3. Dry to remove excess acid (as far as practical). Then add aqueous ammonia until all
solids dissolve (if some stubbornly refuses to dissolve, it's not from silver; filter it out). Then add ammonium ascorbate solution, easily made
from aqueous ammonia and food-grade ascorbic acid. It will rapidly reduce the complexed silver to metallic silver, forming a curdy precipitate. Other
metals, less easily reduced (like copper) remain complexed (so they aren't precipitated as the ascorbate salt) and aren't rapidly reduced in
the cold. Metallic silver is the only solid produced, and can be removed by filtration.
I imagine that other complex-forming materials (such as KCN solution) could be used as well, but aqueous ammonia is inexpensive and relatively safe.
PGP Key and corresponding e-mail address
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hodges
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Can regular (grocery store) sugar be used in a silvering reaction with silver nitrate? Most of the procedures I have found call for glucose, which I
don't have.
Obviously silver is reduced during a silvering process. But does anyone know the equations? I've not been able to find them in any of the
silvering procedures. What happens to the NH3 part of the complex ion?
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Proteios
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makes any skin that it comes in contact with go deep brown/black (due to colloidal Ag ppt in the skin).
Precipitates with pretty much all anion, most notably Cl (very useful)
Electrolysis of AgNO3 is also v. interesting. The manner of Ag deposition depends upon the voltage used (dendritic or spongey)..... plus it has
different colours when voltage is being applied (black i think), then instantly goes grey when the voltage is removed.
Coating things with silver by electrolysis is a total black art! Getting Ag out of solution is easy.. getting it to adhere to a surface is not!
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Magpie
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silver mirror test for aldehydes (Tollen's Test)
Hodges:
See the University of Regensburg video chemistry site delivered to us by Hermes.
It gives the reactions and a video demonstration - pretty neat.
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Turel
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Hunsdieker
Hunsdieker Reaction
[Edited on 28-4-2004 by Turel]
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Esplosivo
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If you're interested in energetics you can produce Silver Carbide by bubbling ethyne through silver nitrate dissolved in ammonia. Be careful
though.
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Can regular (grocery store) sugar be used in a silvering reaction with silver nitrate? Most of the procedures I have found call for glucose, which I
don't have.
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Sucrose is not a reducing agent and cannot be used for what you called the 'silvering reaction'.
[Edited on 28-4-2004 by Esplosivo]
Theory guides, experiment decides.
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