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Silver chloride

 

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Silver chloride


 
 

Coordination chemistry

The solid adopts the fcc NaClSodium chloride

Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the formula NaCl....
 structure, in which each Ag+ ion is surrounded by an octahedronOctahedron

An octahedron is a polyhedron with eight faces....
 of six chloride ligands. AgF and AgBr crystallize similarly. However, the crystallography depends on the condition of crystallization, primarily free silver ion concentration. AgCl dissolves in solutions containing ligandLigand

In chemistry, a ligand is an atom, ion, or molecule that generally donates one or more of its electrons through a coordinat...
s such as chloride, cyanideCyanide

A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group -C=N, with the carbon atom triple-bonded to the nitro...
, triphenylphosphineTriphenylphosphine

Triphenylphosphine is a common organophosphorus compound with the formula P3 - often abbreviated to PPh3 or Ph3P....
, thiosulfateThiosulfate

Thiosulfate is the anion S2O32-. Thiosulfates are only stable in neutral or alkaline solutions, but not in acidic solutions,...
, thiocyanateThiocyanate

Thiocyanate is both an anion, [SCN]-, and, in organic chemistry, a functional group, RSCN....
 and ammoniaAmmonia

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3....
. Silver chloride reacts with these ligands according to the following illustrative equations:
AgCl(s) + Cl-(aq) ? AgCl2-(aq)
AgCl(s) + 2S2O32-(aq) ? Ag[(S2O3)2]3-(aq) + Cl-(aq)
AgCl(s) + 2NH3(aq) ? Ag[(NH3)2]+(aq) + Cl-(aq)

Most complexes derived from AgCl are two-, three-, and, in rare cases, four-coordinate, adopting linear, trigonal planar, and tetrahedral coordination geometries, respectively.

In one of the most famous reactions in chemistry, addition of colorless aqueous silver nitrateSilver nitrate

| R-phrases| , |-| S-phrases| , , ,, ...
 to an equally colorless solution of sodium chloride produces an opaque white precipitate of AgCl:
Ag+(aqAqueous

Aqueous means pertaining to, related to, similar to, or dissolved in water....
) + Cl-(aq) ? AgCl(sSolid

A solid object is in the phase of matter characterized by resistance to deformation and changes of volume....
)

This conversion is a common test for the presence of chlorideChloride

The chloride ion is formed when the element chlorine picks up one electron to form an anion Cl−....
 in solution. The solubility product, Ksp, for AgCl is 1.8 x 10-10, which indicates that one liter of water will dissolve 0.000013 grams of AgCl. The chloride content of an aqueous solution can be determined quantitatively by weighing the precipitated AgCl, which conveniently is non-hygroscopic, since AgCl is one of the few transition metal chlorides that is unreactive toward water. Ions that interfere with this test are bromide and iodide, as well as a variety of ligands (see silver halideSilver halide

A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens, usually silver bromide, silver chlori...
). For AgBr and AgI, the Ksp values are 5.2 x 10-13 and 8.3 x 10-17, respectively. The silver bromideFacts About Silver bromide

Silver bromide, a soft, pale-yellow, insoluble salt well known for its unusual sensitivity to light....
 (slightly yellowish white) and silver iodideSilver iodide

| Silver iodide|-| align="center" colspan="2" | |-...
 (pale yellow) are also significantly more photosensitive than is AgCl.

Applications

  • Silver chloride is used to make photographic paperPhotographic paper

    Until the advent of digital photographic processes, the sole meaning of photographic paper was paper coated with light-sensi...
     since it reacts with photons to form latent imageLatent image

    In photography a latent image is formed when light acts on a photographic emulsion....
     and via photoreduction.
  • The Silver Chloride ElectrodeSilver chloride electrode

    A silver chloride electrode is a type of reference electrode, used for measuring electrochemical potential....
     is a common reference electrode in electrochemistryElectrochemistry

    Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the reactions which take place at the interface of an electronic cond...
    .
  • Silver chloride's low solubility makes it a useful addition to pottery glazes for the production of "Inglaze lustreLustre

    Lustre can mean many things:* For the file system called Lustre, see Lustre....
    ".
  • Silver chloride has been used as an antidote for mercury poisoningMercury poisoning

    Mercury poisoning, also known as mercuralism, is the phenomenon of toxication by contact with mercury....
    , assisting in the elimination of mercuryMercury (element)

    Mercury, also called quicksilver, is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Hg and atomic...
    .
  • Silver chloride is often used in photochromic lensesPhotochromic lenses

    Photochromic lenses are lenses that darken on exposure to UV radiation....
    , again taking advantage of its reversible conversion to Ag metal.
  • Silver chloride is used to create yellow, amber, and brown shades in stained glassStained glass Overview

    The term stained glass refers either to the material of coloured glass or to the art and craft of working with it....
     manufacture.
  • Silver chloride is used in bandagesBandages

    Bandages may refer to:*the plural of bandage, a piece of material used to support a medical device such as a dressing or sp...
     and wound healing products.