# How many % of nitric acid is needed to make silver nitrate?



## w0lvez (Jan 23, 2011)

What is the concentration of weak nitric acid? What would be the best concentration of nitric acid to make silver nitrate? I notice that silver nitrate is not soluble in fuming clear nitric acid. I tried adding same amount of water to dissolve the silver bar the problem is it doesn't dissolve all the 1oz bar. If I don't add water the silver also doesn't dissolve all because it's forming a crystal.


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 23, 2011)

From your post, it doesn't seem like you know near enough to use nitric acid. In fact, it seems like you have zero knowledge. To stay alive, I would suggest that you learn quite a bit more before starting. Study. It's all on the forum.


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## w0lvez (Jan 23, 2011)

I just haven't use a fuming nitric acid before. I already made a lot of silver nitrate before but the nitric acid I have now is quite different. If I add silver in warm nitric acid as the silver dissolved the crystal forms immediately on top even the solution is still hot. If I had few water the solution is not forming brown gas as the silver dissolved. Adding water makes it too weak to dissolve the silver and the solution is only evaporating fast. Is it possible that the acid is contaminated? I just get it from a pawn shop and it was place on a bottle with plastic cap.


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## butcher (Jan 23, 2011)

You mention fuming nitric, this would be way too strong for recovery or refining, if indeed you have fuming be careful what you wet with it this could be very dangerous.
if you are talking 68%- 70% HNO3 that is not fuming.
what is the specific gravity of your nitric acid?

35% HNO3 should be all you need to dissolve silver, heating helps, (and a little H2O2 can help convert NOx gas to HNO3).

crystals is your solution saturated with silve nitrate?

read through the forum about silver and nitric acid.


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## w0lvez (Jan 23, 2011)

butcher said:


> You mention fuming nitric, this would be way too strong for recovery or refining, if indeed you have fuming be careful what you wet with it this could be very dangerous.
> if you are talking 68%- 70% HNO3 that is not fuming.
> what is the specific gravity of your nitric acid?
> 
> ...



It smokes like cigar. I can't get the specific gravity because I only have a little left to use hydrometer and I don't have a glass funnel to put it on a test tube so I can get the weight.
Crystal is forming on the top of the solution trapping the brown gas under.


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## butcher (Jan 23, 2011)

gas fumes from nitric, and fuming nitric can be two different animals.


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## stihl88 (Jan 24, 2011)

Yeah i was just going to say that my 70% AR nitric will fume like a Cigar also.

Where did you get the Nitric from (Link will help), and how do you recognize it to be Fuming?


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## w0lvez (Jan 24, 2011)

stihl88 said:


> Yeah i was just going to say that my 70% AR nitric will fume like a Cigar also.
> 
> Where did you get the Nitric from (Link will help), and how do you recognize it to be Fuming?



I got it from a nearby pawnshop. I recognize it to be fuming because it fumes in presence of air. After closing the cap the fume left inside the bottle turns brown after several hours even the bottle is kept in a dark cold place. Even the silver nitrate I made from it also fumes when there is air present.


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