Silver nitrate

Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula AgNO3. This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called lunar caustic because silver was called luna by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the moon. Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula AgNO3. This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called lunar caustic because silver was called luna by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the moon. In solid silver nitrate, the silver ions are three-coordinated in a trigonal planar arrangement. Albertus Magnus, in the 13th century, documented the ability of nitric acid to separate gold and silver by dissolving the silver. Magnus noted that the resulting solution of silver nitrate could blacken skin. Silver nitrate can be prepared by reacting silver, such as silver bullion or silver foil, with nitric acid, resulting in silver nitrate, water, and oxides of nitrogen. Reaction byproducts depend upon the concentration of nitric acid used. This is performed under a fume hood because of toxic nitrogen oxides evolved during the reaction. A typical reaction with silver nitrate is to suspend a rod of copper in a solution of silver nitrate and leave it for a few hours. The silver nitrate reacts with copper to form hairlike crystals of silver metal and a blue solution of copper nitrate: