Re: CS>basic dumb question From: Mike Monett Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 04:28:54
Background ~~~~~~~~~~ Earlier, I posted the results of an experiment to determine the solubility of silver hydroxide in dw. The conclusion is silver hydroxide is insoluble: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/m78851.html Silver hydroxide is formed during silver electrolysis and when cs evaporates. The equation is Ag(+) + OH(-) --> AgOH It is black or dark brown, and can decompose under pressure to produce silver metal and oxygen. Contrary to recent statements, silver hydroxide is stable at temperatures under 100C, where it decomposes to silver metal and oxygen. It is easy to distinguish between silver hydroxide (AgOH) and silver oxide (Ag2O) since silver oxide decomposes at 300C (572F). Procedure ~~~~~~~~~ To generate silver hydroxide for this experiment, I repeated the experiment described above. When the cathode was covered with a black coat, I removed it and let it dry. The appearance changed a little but not much. The rod was placed on a hot plate under a stereo zoom microscope. A thermometer was used to determine the temperature. As the hot plate began to heat up, it was obvious where the heating elements were located. The 12ga silver rod turned from black to gray each time it crossed the spiral element. The thermometer read only 160 degrees F when the pattern began appearing. It was very clear at 180F. When the thermometer reached 210 degrees F, the rod was completely gray. No black coating remained. I removed the rod with pliers and let it cool in the air. When cool, I wiped it with a tissue. The tissue had a small spot of shiny silver metal where it touched the rod. I wiped the anode rod, that had not been heated, with the same tissue. It left a black patch with a small shiny spot in the middle. Conclusion ~~~~~~~~~~ The conclusion is the black coating produced by electrolysis and the evaporation of cs is silver hydroxide, AgOH. Reference ~~~~~~~~~ I previously located a MSDS for AgOH that stated the decomposition temperature of 100C, but unfortunately lost it and all references to silver hydroxide seem to have disappeared from the web. The only reference I can find that mentions the decomposition temperature of AgOH is below. It states 250F instead of 212F: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/SHA_SIV/SILVANUS_Lat_silva_wood_.html Mike Monett -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: silver-off-topic-l...@eskimo.com OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@eskimo.com>