Excellent tips, I will look into doing this. Thanks so much GD76!I have always covered my silver chloride with water, add sodium hydroxide, stir it well so there's no clumps of silver chloride so it can react with the sodium hydroxide, then let it react for a while until it's all converted to silver oxide, then I add Karo syrup directly into this without washing and it has always converted into metallic silver.
I never wash the silver oxide because it is easily washed into the waste bucket and I do believe that it needs to be basic for the sugar to make the conversion to metallic silver.
I can't comment on using regular sugar because I have always used Karo syrup but there's no reason for granulated sugar not to work just fine.
I have used quick lime once when I ran out of sodium hydroxide and it was messy but worked good to converte the silver chloride to silver oxide.
I'm wondering if you don't have fine silver oxide suspended in your solution.
I would evaporate it down to around 20 ml and then try the conversion with lye and sugar again without washing your silver oxide.
It looks like there is some copper in your solution but it can be washed out once you have metallic silver.
After reading again you said that you added a lot of sugar.Excellent tips, I will look into doing this. Thanks so much GD76!
That’s the strange thing. When I added the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon the reaction was very very slow and the mirroring came and sat there. I even used a magnetic stirrer because I was getting tired of stirring. Then I thought I needed to add some hot diluted distilled water, and it just stayed black for awhile till I shined a light on it and the water was grey with a mirror shine… it cooled off a bit.. but I felt like the reaction never really broke, just stayed in limbo.After reading again you said that you added a lot of sugar.
So do you mean like a cup or a few tablespoons ?
If you put your solution in your beaker how much is there ?
If it's only 20 or 30 ml you should be able to add some sodium hydroxide to see if you can get it converted and settled.
I can't tell you how much to add without knowing how much solution you have but don't get crazy and add a lot or it can boil over plus there no need to create a lot of waste.
I only added a tablespoon of sodium hydroxide and it turned black instantly and was fine, i though I was off to a great start.That’s the strange thing. When I added the sugar tablespoon by tablespoon the reaction was very very slow and the mirroring came and sat there. I even used a magnetic stirrer because I was getting tired of stirring. Then I thought I needed to add some hot diluted distilled water, and it just stayed black for awhile till I shined a light on it and the water was grey with a mirror shine… it cooled off a bit.. but I felt like the reaction never really broke, just stayed in limbo.
The first time I did the silver choride to silver it was very pronounced when the the mirror effect took place and then stopped and there was gray powder and clear solution there so I knew it went correctly. I did get a nice of silver. Even though when I was drying the cemented silver It got dark a bit and I think that was from the sugar.
10 minutes later would have been the time to add your sugar directly to the oxide solution.I only added a tablespoon of sodium hydroxide and it turned black instantly and was fine, i though I was off to a great start.
I just cannot figure out why it turn to a black then grey solution that never settled.. I let it sit for 5hours if anything it was about 2 oz of silver possibly in there. I’m a newbie so I accept the loss. I will try again and again10 minutes later would have been the time to add your sugar directly to the oxide solution.
You need to wash the silver chloride until there is no more base metal in there. To test this, you make a solution of lye and add a few drops to a small amount of the wash water in a small beaker or test tube.It’s just seemed to get more messy. I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. I had the black silver oxide. Did I not wash it enough? Maybe some excess lye reacted with the sugar and make the grey/mirrorish/blackish water?
I used lots of sugar. Should of even needed that much. Talking 2 cups plus.
I will try it again at some point. I need to figure it out. Thanks for your help.
Was this that bit of silver chloride? You said 2 ozt? It was so little, it may be very fine qnd suspended in solution. Give it some time to let settle or heat it to see if that makes it clear up.I just cannot figure out why it turn to a black then grey solution that never settled.. I let it sit for 5hours if anything it was about 2 oz of silver possibly in there. I’m a newbie so I accept the loss. I will try again and again
Because you said you recovered silver cement:I just cannot figure out why it turn to a black then grey solution that never settled.. I let it sit for 5hours if anything it was about 2 oz of silver possibly in there. I’m a newbie so I accept the loss. I will try again and again
That is 93.1% yeild from sterling. I don't think you can expect 2oz left in there.after I cement silvered and got back 503g cement silver from 540g Sterling I had melted.
Regular sugar CAN work, but it absolutely needs to be very basic to reduce the silver well enough. Sucrose doesn't have redox potential as dextrose/glucose because it's 'trapped' in a cyclic form due to the position of the glycosidic bonds, and cannot form the reducing aldehyde group which can only exist when sugars are in their linear forms.I have always covered my silver chloride with water, add sodium hydroxide, stir it well so there's no clumps of silver chloride so it can react with the sodium hydroxide, then let it react for a while until it's all converted to silver oxide, then I add Karo syrup directly into this without washing and it has always converted into metallic silver.
I never wash the silver oxide because it is easily washed into the waste bucket and I do believe that it needs to be basic for the sugar to make the conversion to metallic silver.
I can't comment on using regular sugar because I have always used Karo syrup but there's no reason for granulated sugar not to work just fine.
I have used quick lime once when I ran out of sodium hydroxide and it was messy but worked good to converte the silver chloride to silver oxide.
I'm wondering if you don't have fine silver oxide suspended in your solution.
I would evaporate it down to around 20 ml and then try the conversion with lye and sugar again without washing your silver oxide.
It looks like there is some copper in your solution but it can be washed out once you have metallic silver.
Great information Alondro Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me and others. Much appeciated!Regular sugar CAN work, but it absolutely needs to be very basic to reduce the silver well enough. Sucrose doesn't have redox potential as dextrose/glucose because it's 'trapped' in a cyclic form due to the position of the glycosidic bonds, and cannot form the reducing aldehyde group which can only exist when sugars are in their linear forms.
Lactose, another disaccharide, CAN reduce because its bond is in a different place and doesn't interfere with linerization ofthe component glucose units.
Strong bases hydrolyze some of the disaccharide bonds and facilitate linerization of the resulting glucose and fructose that composes sucrose.
Very interestingRegular sugar CAN work, but it absolutely needs to be very basic to reduce the silver well enough. Sucrose doesn't have redox potential as dextrose/glucose because it's 'trapped' in a cyclic form due to the position of the glycosidic bonds, and cannot form the reducing aldehyde group which can only exist when sugars are in their linear forms.
Lactose, another disaccharide, CAN reduce because its bond is in a different place and doesn't interfere with linerization ofthe component glucose units.
Strong bases hydrolyze some of the disaccharide bonds and facilitate linerization of the resulting glucose and fructose that composes sucrose.
Nope. No need to when karo syrup is so cheap! I just know about reducing vs nonreducing sugars from biochem classes.Very interesting
I love learning new things !!!
Alondro, have you tried lactose to reduce silver ?
I just ordered some, the Karo is the stores now have Vanilla… LOL so I found just regular no frills corn syrup. Not sure if the pseudo vanilla extract might cause some weird problem.Nope. No need to when karo syrup is so cheap! I just know about reducing vs nonreducing sugars from biochem classes.
Actually, any sugar will work in these conditions. Even despite the fact it is "non-reducing", like sucrose. In strongly basic conditions, silver is much stronger oxidizing agent than in near-neutral conditions. Base decompose glycosidic bond in sucrose and liberate free glucose and fructose. But oxidation party just begin there. Sugar in these conditions is completely "shredded" to small oxidized molecules, in some cases even to carbon dioxide (which forms carbonates in strongly basic conditions).Nope. No need to when karo syrup is so cheap! I just know about reducing vs nonreducing sugars from biochem classes.
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