Silver Nitrate making

**imagedowser** · 14-Jan-2011, 08:56

I have a collection of silver casting scrap and a bottle of Nitric acid... Id like to make my own silver nitrate. Mees makes it sound fairly basic in his book "Photography". Any one have a reference to the procedure? Including safety procedures with the acid... Thanks, Bill

**Scott Walker** · 14-Jan-2011, 09:32

I know nothing of making Silver Nitrate but I do know Jewellery, and casting scraps are likely Sterling which is 92.5% silver and the ballance copper but there may be other things in there as well like zinc. I have no idea if that is problematic with the process that you will be using but pure 99.9% silver is relatively cheap and easy to find. As far as safety procedures go for the acid you need to treat it as you would treat any toxic acid, Nitric acid is also corrosive. Use a fume hood and suit up.

**Jason Greenberg Motamedi** · 14-Jan-2011, 09:46

To be blunt, if you have to ask, you shouldn't try.

Handling the acid isn't half the problem. Putting silver into nitric acid produces clouds of nitrogen dioxide, a highly toxic pollutant. If you don't have a lab-grade fume hood which is properly exhausted and (depending on local laws) has the correct filter installed in the exhaust, don't do this.

**Michael Cienfuegos** · 14-Jan-2011, 10:01

You obviously don't have a fume hood, probably have never handled Nitric acid. Jason put it best: "If you have to ask, you shouldn't be thinking about it." You can sell your scrap to a refiner and then buy pure Silver Nitrate from the proper dealer. You aren't going to save any money by trying to DIY.

**Ron Marshall** · 14-Jan-2011, 10:03

Originally Posted by Jason Greenberg Motamedi

To be blunt, if you have to ask, you shouldn't try.

Handling the acid isn't half the problem. Putting silver into nitric acid produces clouds of nitrogen dioxide, a highly toxic pollutant. If you don't have a lab-grade fume hood which is properly exhausted and (depending on local laws) has the correct filter installed in the exhaust, don't do this.

Nitric acid and the gas evolved in this reaction are nasty.

**Scott Davis** · 14-Jan-2011, 10:33

Not to mention the fact that silver nitrate is caustic and combustible. This is one of those things where it's far better off spending the (slightly) extra money to have a quality-controlled professionally produced product than trying to home-brew it and screwing something up so that at best you waste your silver on a non-functioning compound, and worst case you go blind and/or burn your house down trying to make it.

**Brian Ellis** · 14-Jan-2011, 10:48

I'd give it a try. Unless you're a long distance runner you really don't need all of your lungs just to breathe. And only hypersensitive wusses are going to be put off by those red blisters all over your face.