Silver Nitrate, AgNO3
Preparation
It is prepared by the action of dilute nitric acid on silver and then evaporating the solution to crystallization.
3Ag + 4HNO3 ———→ 3AgNO3 + NO ↑ + 2H2O
Properties
1. Action of heat
It decomposes on heating.
723K 980K
2AgNO3 —————→ 2AgNO2 ————→ 2Ag + 2NO2
2. On coming into contact with organic matter like skin or clothes, it is reduced to finely – divided silver, giving a black stain.
3. Precipitation reactions
It gives precipitates with some salt solutions which help in the detection of acid radicals. Some of the precipitation reactions are:
NaCl + AgNO3 ———→ AgCl ↓ + NaNO3
NaPO4 + 3AgNO3 ———→ Ag3PO4 ↓ + 3NaNO3
K2CrO4 + 3AgNO3 ———→ AgCrO ↓ + 2KNO3
Na2S + 2AgNO3 ———→ Ag2S ↓ + 2NaNO3
Na2S2O3 + 2AgNO3 ———→ Ag2S2O3 ↓ + 2NaNO3
Na2C2O4 + 2AgNO3 ———→ Ag2C2O4 ↓ + 2NaNO3
Na3BO3 + 3AgNO3 ———→ Ag3BO3 ↓ + 3NaNO3
Uses
It is used for
1. Preparing silver halides used in photography.
2. For making inks and hair dyes.
3. In qualitative and quantitative analysis.
4. For silvering of glass, i.e. preparation of mirrors.
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