Dissolving pure silver to make silver nitrate

In this video, we dissolve some silver ingots in nitric acid to make silver nitrate.
I plan to use silver nitrate in a few ways. I want to revisit the water sensitive mixture of magnesium and silver nitrate and I want to make the silver mirror (which I have surprisingly never done).
Silver nitrate and magnesium: • Video
Assistant Editor:
Chanel Brun-Soroka
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Nile talks about lab safety: • Chemistry is dangerous.

[@rudradipdas7534]

make a video on how to extract fluoride salts from toothpaste

[@11Rastafari11]

elmex gelee would be good for this but its expensive

[@novaimperius9084]

It usually has to be sodium fluoride.

[@sinister3921]

Just put the toothpaste in HCl or other acids. Then oxidize it using a strong oxidizing agent. And bam U got nothing !!!

[@sapphoenixthefirebird5063]

Better yet, extract pure fluorine gas.

[@Coincidence_Theorist]

@@sapphoenixthefirebird5063 with only a hooded sweatshirt (helps in gathering gases into one space. Helps a lot and was discovered by early alchemists who, without exception, wrote nice big floppy hoods which aided in secrecy.)

[@joost00719]

I never had chemistry at my school because the school did not offer it, so now i'm just watching your videos guessing what is happening most of the time :D

[@NileRed]

Still glad to have you here!

[@mechadrake]

religious school or something opposed to science? I never heard of schools without at least some chemistry.

[@joost00719]

it wasn't viable because the school was too small.

[@pietrotettamanti7239]

@@mechadrake He meant lab chemistry. No religious school whatsoever would be against the teaching of science.

[@mrhackerman1595]

Potato Boy and what are you a Protestant

[@tomfrench8252]

Your one of my inspirations Nile. I'm 13 and I'm a home chemists so generally people don't understand what I talk about when in conversation about this topic, so when people like you who have the courage to make a KZbin channel like this post excellent content like you do it really is what teaches me things. I have learnt more from KZbin in the past year about chemistry then I have in school. Keep up the good work.

[@jackgeraghty1548]

Tom French I am 14 and a home chemist and I completly understand. I've basically learned everything I know from KZbin videos like niles and only a tiny bit in school!

[@hugokermabon8641]

Hope you got into chemistry studies since then!

[@Max_Chooch]

Learnt isn't a word.

[@mahbuddykeith1124]

Are you now a 20-year old chemist?

[@jangisgand6140]

Really cool! Keep up the good work, Nile!

[@NileRed]

Thanks!

[@bugsthedaffy5016]

+Ameer Ramchand watch the last video

[@Fernito]

I love your channel. This experiment reminded me of that time in school when I started studying chemistry for the first time in my life, and in the first class the teacher asked us to investigate about a simple experiment and recreate it in front of the class. With the help of an uncle that was an engineer, I could make this cool and simple experiment where you dissolve a stick of silver nitrate in distilled water and then put a copper bar in the solution. Small silver crystals will start to form in the surface of the copper bar, while the bottom of the container starts getting blue because of the copper nitrate formed. I think it was quite cool.

[@alexstillwell1619]

Thanks for the video! I work at a chemistry lab and we routinely use silver nitrate to titrate chloride/NaCl with nitric acid to determine chloride or salt concentration. Great information.

[@chriswismer1186]

Nice work! I cannot wait for the silver mirror.

[@PL5error]

I also learnt that silver nitrate is used on top of thin sticks to kinda burn things like warts and stuff. They had to aply that to my nose just an hour ago and it BURNS like hell

[@RaExpIn]

The silver nitrate is less soluble at the beginning, because of to the nitric acid, which increases the concentration of nitrate ions and causes more silver nitrate to precipitate. This is due to the solubility product.

[@tylermitchell5631]

Is it possible to turn the silver nitrate back to silver metal?

[@burkhartsimon1332]

+NileRed Have you ever thought of doing a series on OChem? You always explain your experiments very well, and I think you would be able to explain the concepts very well.

[@NileRed]

I really should! I think it will happen eventually...

[@KazeShiniSK]

Yay! You're finally doing the silver mirror experiment. You might remember I asked you if a similar result can be achieved with aluminum and you said you'll look into it. Thanks for making these videos!

[@teawizard374]

Ah, Silver Nitrate. I remember accidentally spilling this chemical on the table during the titration experiment, because I accidentally left burette's valve's open.

[@IAmNotABot9]

I can't believe you didn't mention anywhere in the video that Silver Nitrate was used to invent photography...

[@sebastianprzybya5966]

Well..., it wasn't. First practical photographic process, daguerrotype, used metallic silver.

[@wildboy87]

Silver bromide was not the nitrate

[@sebastianprzybya5966]

@@wildboy87 bromide wasn't the first halide used either, Talbot relied on silver chloride, and Daguerre used iodide. Silver bromide came around the turn of the century.

[@radishpineapple74]

Hey NileRed, I have a video suggestion for you: an informative behind-the-scenes explanation of how you do what you do. Could you please have a general walkthrough of your lab/workspace and your equipment? I'd like to know what kinds of equipment you've acquired, and how you got them. What would be the minimal setup needed to really be able to do some experimentation, how much would it cost, and where would one get these things? What are the resources that you use--are there any online forums for other garage chemists like yourself? How did you get started in the first place? Do you worry about the police coming after you? What are your safety procedures? How do you do your filming and editing? I think that this kind of video would give a lot of helpful perspective on how you do your amazing work, and would really help others start doing some chemistry on their own.

[@NileRed]

Hey! Ill answer your questions here because im not sure ill make a video on it. I have almost everything I need to carry out most experiments. I just dont have a glovebox (oxygen free enclosure) and a vacuum dessicator. I think the minimum setup is a distillation apparatus with some beakers, erlenmeyers, filters and a sep funnel. It doesnt cost too much if you just buy chinese glassware (it is still good stuff). It can be bought from ebay. I used to read sciencemadness a lot, but not so much anymore. I just try to figure things out on my own by piecing together different sources that I find online. I got started when I worked in a lab as a lab tech. I started by testing out new potential labs, but moved on to doing my own thing. I dont worry about the police, but it is a reality that it could happen. I kind of assume it will at some point My safety is just general lab gear and a fire extinguisher. I keep things as well ventilated as possible and wear a mask when I need to. I store chemicals appropriately (or as appropriately as possible). Separate the reducers and oxidizers, flammables are in a metal enclosure, liquids in plastic containers in case of a leak, etc I film using a Panasonic GH4 and edit using Sony vegas. I learned how to edit as I progressed

[@CrusaderGundam]

Hey! Here's a way to reduce fuming in your lab! I ran this reaction in a Flat Bottom flask with an adapter for tubing which lead to a beaker of water. I put a pasture pipette on the end of the tubing so that the bubbling would occur more frequently at lower volume. I neutralized the waste with potassium hydroxide and threw in aqueous waste. Hope someone finds this comment helpful!

[@Andrew-my1cp]

Haha that's what I did too! I made a small amount of silver nitrate and did the whole thing outside and bubbled it through NaOH solution. I hate NO2. Looks awesome but is nasty shit.

[@Aichybatoal]

I'm trying to isolate elemental boron from Borax powder, but I'm running into a couple practical problems along the way. I would LOVE to see you do this procedure on your channel, NileRed. I'm sure you could do it more efficiently and less wastefully than I, and it'd be super helpful for me and others to watch. I'm sure you can find the procedure on your own, but I'll outline it basically anyway. If you even happen to see this, that is. 1. Borax + HCL = boric acid 2. Heat boric acid at 300 degrees C to produce boron trioxide 3. Thermite with magnesium to produce some boron, some magnesium boride, and some magnesium oxide 4. Dissolve products in HCl, which will dissolve everything except elemental boron

[@itsumonihon]

Silver nitrate is VERY useful for creating mirrors, I use it extensively for repairing old mirrors inside of antique cameras such as Leicas and Rolleiflexes since otherwise the glass would need to be given an aluminum vacuum deposition treatment which is way beyond the means of most private individuals. Mirror making shouldn't be considered criminal or suspicious!

[@alexakennedy670]

You should add a “T+1:00 hr” or whatever time to videos so we know how long it takes.

[@ficolas2]

Be careful nile! You said the word explosive in this video, and you plan to upload an explosive video! KZbin may be upset.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

the whole monetization issue isn't as much of a problem for youtubers who don't rely 100% on ad income

[@NileRed]

Oh no, I am so skurred :(

[@theKashConnoisseur]

Except they actually flag videos and delete channels with explosive focused content. Explosions&Fire made a vid about it a couple weeks ago, when his channel started getting hit.

[@whoeveriam0iam14222]

The Kush Connoisseur the current panic is about losing monetization on the videos that get flagged

[@theKashConnoisseur]

whoeveriam0iam14222 I understand, but amidst all the demonetization concerns for edgy videos, I didn't wan't it to be lost that KZbin is ALSO deleting channels and giving non-deleted channels content strikes that severely limit their ability to upload content. The deleted and content striked channels were those which made videos dealing with things that explode or spontaneously ignite. So, as bad as it would be to be unable to monetize such videos, it'd be much worse if NileRed got his channel deleted for it.

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

i know it maybe not easy or safe to do but is it possible to do a video about old time photography with silver salts and mercury. that maybe a really cool use for it granted you can do it safely!

[@georgejohnson445]

My orthodontist had silver nitrate that was in a gel-like state. Its color was black. I wonder how they made it into that kind of in between a solid and a liquid type of state.

[@nickhill9445]

Works great with dilute HNO3 and chilling NO2 back into solution.

[@NandaUsername]

Hello. Can you explain please how to etch silver for jewelry with nitric acid. Thanks 😊

[@markbottcher2459]

SPICY CONFIRMED! LMAO 🤣 that tasting on camera , that was funny man. 😁

[@anwarabdullah6723]

This takes me back to Chemistry 120 my freshman year of college. Nostalgia is fun.

[@pastedtomato]

Would be interesting to try to make some photographic material with silver nitrate, the easiest would be a salt print, although making silver gelatine is somewhat easy

[@alexwolf2145]

What is the most efficient way of turning silver nitrate back into metallic silver?

[@radscientist]

Good stuff and thoroughly explained as usual. Keep up the good work!

[@DonCarlos590]

Thanks for all your hard work and inspiration.

[@atd9945]

how can you guarantee that there are no nitric acid in the ending product?

[@mkv2718]

Silver nitrate is wonderful for making old historic style photographs. Pretty much necessary in fact. If you do this again, I would probably try to purchase silver shot instead of bullion. Cheaper if you are planning on getting large volumes. Also silver nitrate can be handled safely in any light source that doesn’t emit UV light, as that’s where the bulk of its sensitivity lies. Honestly a normal incandescent bulb with a red or deep orange filter over the light (or just an orange darkroom bulb, no need to go full red but that’s fine too. Definitely no need to get a sodium vapor lamp) will work fine to be able to work safely and see what you are doing. For storage, some dark brown glass bottles work well. Anywhere that sells materials for historic photo processes would have all these items. This would include the Photographer’s Formulary, Bostick and Sullivan (bulk silver nitrate can be purchased here too) or even Freestyle or B&H would have the supplies.

[@claytonbenignus4688]

What was the cost of materials for this experiment???

[@user-og4vo5jc9x]

Try making silver fulminate by reacting the silver nitrate with nitric acid in a solution of ethanol

[@Andrew-my1cp]

Nah wayyy to sensitive. Make silver acetylide double salt. Much less sensitive to shock and friction. Likely still possible to detonate it via static though.

[@Andrew-my1cp]

@Noer Garra It goes boom

[@ganger631]

You should attempt making silver acetlyide. Its a very interesting energetic substance. Also, i have synthesized some silver nitrate and stored it in bottle with food plastic wrap as lid. Overtime, the plastic began to form red substances. Any idea what by products are being formed?

[@alexandrechaminas3108]

Hey! great gob, as usual ! I have an idea of new synthesis for you : geraniol. It smells considerably, is a repellant against mosquitoes and the formula seems not too long to synthesise it

[@avion3033]

Totally unrelated question about your "how to extract limonene from orange peels" video. Could you add that to actual food without it hurting you? Love your channel btw.

[@GranRey-0]

Great Video

[@shaqman8649]

thanks

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Here is something you can do with it: You can blacken antler, horn, bone and ivory with it. Deep silvery blue black. Pretty durable because its inside and not a paint. Clean and brush-on or soak in potassium hydroxide, wipe away excess, does not need to be dry to continue. Then brush-on or soak (I've done both with success) in silver nitrate solution. Strength is almost irrelevant, maybe 1g in 50ml. More or less. Wait to dry to handle easier or not. Place in sunlight. If it does not darken in seconds then... I don't know, it always works. I've done angle and bone and a test with a piano key. Also finish your sanding polishing first, it won't effect the surface besides color. Buff and wax or seal.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

*antler not angle

[@Ninjakebab]

The reason the solid silver nitrate initially builds up, is because its solubility in concentrated nitric acid is actually very low. As the nitric acid is used up and decomposed later in the stage, the solubility of the silver nitrate increases. For this reason I have also found that you can speed up the reaction if you dilute the nitric acid, initially. This does however require that you supply continuous heat all the way through the dissolution.

[@SeveredEternity]

Today, I went to the er to get a vein in my nose cauterized, and they used silver nitrate and I cannot explain how badly that hurt.

[@joshl1350]

I wish I could take chemistry again but I have to take biology this year

[@GMCLabs]

I think the silver nitrate doesn't initially dissolve due to the common ion effect from the unconsumed nitric acid. I noticed this when adding more nitric acid, silver nitrate would crystallize out when adding the acid.

[@acrakatau4365]

The bad solubility of silver nitrate in the nitric acid at the beginning is in general due to the solubility product or in this case the common ion effect. As long as there are nitrate ions in solution from the acid, the silver salt can't fully dissociate and dissolve. When the acid gets used up, the nitrate concentration goes down and more silver nitrate can dissolve, until everything is dissolved.

[@lajoswinkler]

Silver nitrate has troubles dissolving because of the common ion effect. As nitric acid is lost, there's less nitrate anions in the solution, so the salt gets dissolved again. You should know these things. :P Why don't you try some photography? It's a great way to demonstrate chemical reactions.

[@NileRed]

the common ion effect...well derp, my bad. Also, yeah, I do plan to use it for some photography at some point.

[@swtparts181]

Whats the name of that crystal you used to start forming the silver nitrate crystals. Thank you

[@timmulm]

It was silver nitrate as well

[@fsadfasfd]

I dont know if this is relate to your videos style, but could you make a plating series, like electroplating or electroless plating.

[@ilongoldberg3540]

Like or comment if you think he should do a lab tour

[@gmc9753]

Oh no. Not the Monarch Precious Metals bar!

[@jasonsummit1885]

I plan on doing the exact opposite of this sometime next week. Just got a couple of small jars of silver nitrate from a friend of mine today and plan on processing it back into silver metal.😁

[@GMCLabs]

The silver nitrate probably isn't dissolving due to the common Ion effect, too much NO3- because of the concentrated acid.

[@yearlong5179]

The reason i’m curious is because of the first ever picture taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, he did this by coating paper in silver chloride which contains silver nitrate and exposes it to light because it is light sensitive

[@yearlong5179]

He was also responsible for the first ever internal combustion engine so a very revolutionary man

[@acidpatan]

silver is not always pure, so some processes must be done to give 99.8% purity, each kilo of silver gives 1.5 kg silver nitrate

[@joshsullivan2701]

I always match the volume of my Nitric with an equal amount of distilled water. Letting that simmer on low heat makes the most tolerable reaction in my experience

[@psychogaming770]

Bro how to make silver nitrate to silver bar

[@garnerharp]

Do you think you can make a breath freshener out of silver?

[@theKashConnoisseur]

Careful on the explosive materials (EM) videos. A decent handful of chemistry channels I follow which deal with EMs, pyrophorics, and related syntheses have been hit with content strikes and channel takedowns. Videos that are obviously strictly scientific and educational in nature, mind you. Perhaps it's related to the new bot KZbin has that's demonetizing everything edgy...

[@andrestrujado]

I've noticed that you'll be making the classic blue bottle reaction. Have you tried using benzoin as a reducing agent instead of glucose. It works quite well under alkaline conditions and you don't need that much as well. Furthermore, other redox indicators can also be used to obtain a different colour changing effect. Will try to show you some examples. TERRIFIC WORK! KEEP IT UP!

[@NileRed]

I dont have any benzoin, so unfortunately I can't try that. I am not sure exactly which other indicators I plan to use, but I do want to do the "stoplight" experiment

[@andrestrujado]

Great indigo carmine! Looking forward to watching it

[@vittoriorestelli7190]

Hi Nile! Fantastic videos you are producing, thank you very much for your efforts and time. Since I am a wet plate photographer it comes in very useful this latest video.. I have a question concerning the nitrogen dioxide produced in the reaction. Would it be possible to use the fumes to produce nitric acid to avoid to have it in the atmosphere? Furthermore the nitric acid is needed in certain photographic developer formulas..

[@nana-eh6ni]

Have you thought about doing a video on the Haber-Bosch or Ostwald process?

[@kwinvdv]

You could use it to do some wet plate photography. It does involve some other chemicals and a camera, but it does show its light sensitivity. I also believe it also reacts to UV light, showing how people partially look like in UV.

[@NileRed]

I actually do plan to use it for some wet plate photography. I am not sure when I will do that though

[@kwinvdv]

I am looking forward to it. Always love the detail and gritty look of those kind of photos.

[@matthewstern6085]

silver nitrate is used to make film

[@maurizioblondi7888]

Why you don't use a gas trap for recovering the nitrogen dioxide gases and making new nitric acid, by bubbling in water?

[@matthewwilkins4853]

With regards to the solubility of AgNO3 as it is being produced: Possibly the AgNO3 competing for solubility with the NO2 in solution. It would be cool to see this experiment again with something assisting the gasses from solution... maybe some chemically inert mentos.

[@fc63457]

3:15 Perhaps common ion effect? The nitric acid generates enough nitrate ions in solution that forces the silver nitrate to precipitate out.

[@nothingisreal6816]

Nitirc acid solution is already completely dissociated. When we add silver we're basically mixing Ag(s) + 2 HNO3(aq) -> AgNO3 + H2O + NO2. There is no common ion

[@fc63457]

The solubility of AgNO3 is governed by the solubility product constant Ksp = [Ag+][NO3-]. As [NO3-] is very high initially from the complete dissociated HNO3, the solubility of the AgNO3 formed will be lower in nitric acid than in water. As the reaction continues, [NO3-] decreases since half of it ends up as NO2. The solubility of silver nitrate increases then.

[@MS-yx3dr]

You can achieve the same thing by electrolysis, with just a tiny acid and no visible fume.

[@Camroc37]

I'll be doing this soon, but I have to find some silver that I won't miss. Hey, try using a welding mask filter over your camera when you revisit the Mg/AgNO3 video so we can see what it looks like without the flash.

[@5thDragonDreamCaster]

I heard that if you bubble acetylene through a silver nitrate solution you get silver acetylide, an explosive powder.

[@argoneum]

I think that crystals formed in the beginning could be silver nitrite, then slowly reacting with nitric acid to produce nitrate (and more NO2). Just guessing.

[@loupandsnoop]

out of curiosity, are you supposed to do something about NO2 gas in terms of waste disposal? or is it okay to let it out into the world?

[@Mega98RP]

Nitric acid is awesome, those fumes are portentous

[@cyancoyote7366]

NileRed NurdRage NR Coincedence?

[@jangisgand6140]

Illuminati confirmed

[@WalterWhite-ty4lw]

NileRed NurdRage NR 3 N's: 3+0 = 3 *Illuminati confirmed*

[@Agustx0]

They both are Canadian too 😐

[@Robocop-qe7le]

+Squishy Potatoe its a conspiracy.

[@DeanBiddler]

Illuminati confirmed.

[@mr.b4259]

Hey Nile (or any of you guys watching), got a question: Is crystallization temperature dependant or vice versa? What I mean is, do things (yogurt in this case) crystallize because they are cold, or they become cold, because they have crystallized? I noticed my yougurt had cristalized in the freezer, but the center was still at normal temperature, even with the spoon in the center of it. Then the question popped. Did the yogurt's temperature drop, because the yogurt crystallized, or did the yogurt crystallize because the freezer's temperature dropped? Is it easier to drop a material's temperature, if it is in a solid state? My brain is frozen. I'm not that good at chemistry, but I love it anyways!!!

[@ericzhang6969]

Did I see Bomex! I also usually use this brand.

[@editname6868]

Step 1: take Ag Step 2: take HNO3 Step 3: put the Ag in the HNO3 Step 4: boil it off Step 5: there you go

[@WoncheeS]

You can try to nucleate silver nanoparticles in within a solution of PVP & Etilenglicol adding some of the silver nitrate. more interesting if you have access to a SEM or a TEM

[@gamingmarcus]

Shouldn't the reaction start faster when adding a bit of water? At the very beginning it's rather obvious that a nitrate has a hard time dissolving into nitric acid. But I'm guessing you didn't want to have more water than really needed.

[@markdombrovan8849]

Doesnt using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer work, so that we don't get NO2?

[@rutherford2580]

The silver nitrate is not dissolving cause of two identical anions(NO3- of the silver nitrate and No3- of the nitric acic) "fighting for solvation". As you used conc. nitric acid there are a lot of the NO3- in solution wich causes a decreased solubility of silver nitrate but as the reaction is continuing the concentration of No3- is kept at one level by immediately dissolving silver nitrate and the exess is percipitating out. In the end everything dissolves cause the solution is pretty hot and the HNO3 was used up. I have not done any caculations on this yet to verify!

[@montsaintleondr7491]

I think AgNO3 doesn't dissolve at first because there is too much of NO3(-) ion in the solution initially

[@mikeguitar9769]

Okay but your yield on the nitrate was

[@solarguys5501]

Thanks!

[@Bustin_cider00]

I was cauterized so many times without numbing agent by silver nitrate. It really hurts and every time i almost passed out

[@MuzikBike]

I want to see a side by side comparison of nitrogen dioxide and bromine. And, if it works that way, a reaction between them?

[@lordsponge10]

Could you make a video about creating ethanol from ethylene and water?

[@jonathansmith4634]

Why is it that you allow the H2O to evaporate rather than use vacuum filtration?

[@Stray03]

How does it work, last time I checked our explosives act doesn't allow individuals to manufacture their own explosives, did I not read the section right or are you risking the OPP or RCMP harassing you?

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

Definitely cut the acid with distilled water to slow it down

[@negljbreakergaming]

thumbnail: forbidden beer

[@rahmansheriff4789]

How to regain Nickel sulphate from old Nickel plating solution economicaly

[@MagruderSpoots]

Did you use a fume hood?

[@Rhodanide]

Where do you get all of your glass bottles, plastic bottles and things??! They're awesome! I need some, and old pill bottles aren't cutting it.

[@ballpoint8216]

Could you do a video on reducing phosphoric acid to phosphrous?

[@porkchopSMIN]

Hi Nile, I'm starting up a home chemistry lab and I can't seem to find a good place to find a hot plate. Any suggestions?

[@icystorm9968]

Gurl, not a stan twitter channel talking about chemistry 😂

[@NecroBanana]

@@icystorm9968 That comment is 4 years old, bro.

[@icystorm9968]

@@NecroBanana and yet you are replying to a reply to that same 4 year old comment 😂 Anyways, I know, what's your point?

[@guthhalf5484]

She doesn't need a hot plate she needs rehab

[@samueltaylor4989]

Probably for a meth lab it looks like!

[@ayrtonfuuu111]

Nile, could you put the product in a desiccator to dry it? I know this is not the main objective of a desiccator, but would it somehow damage the silica? And if it's okay, why don't you do that?

[@kevinphilip6232]

Nile, will you be making any videos on the synthesis of any thiols ?

[@mixery_dose5435]

Once in chemistry class I covered the test tube containing a AgNO3 Solution with my finger and started shaking...... My thumb was hella black for the next week or so xD

[@zock4419]

Can you make a video on benzoate esters and steam distillation ?

[@wyattbuckbee7766]

Can you show us how to make flexible polyurethane foam?

[@ancapftw9113]

bubble your NO2 through water if you can. The water will become dilute nitric acid.