I'm having a little trouble understand this article about gold ions and electrons from Vitamin C

[IsaacUS]

"That leaves the tips open to an oxidation or reduction reaction. The ascorbic acid provides electrons that combine with gold ions and settle at the tips in the form of gold atoms. And unlike carbon nanotubes in a solution that easily aggregate, the nanowires keep their distance from one another."

This is from the article https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190219132706.htm
Where they try and grow gold nanoparticles.

What I'm confused with is how they were able to increase the atoms of gold by simply just adding ascorbic acid. I mean the Vitamin C gives the ions electrons, that in turn just converts the ions to atoms? Why did the article seem to make it so that the Vitamin C itself actually turns into gold ions/atoms.

Which brings me to my next Q.
If I have a 1L aqueous solution of gold ions. How much vitamin C needs to be used to gain gold atoms? And how could these atoms be increased in mass without the need to get more Gold? Is this possible since these ions just need electrons?

 

[g_axelsson]

You have misunderstood the article. Gold atoms can not be created from nothing, it is grown from the gold ions in solution.

Gold ions is just gold atoms that has lost one or more electrons. Ascorbic acid have the chemical energy to donate electrons to the gold ions which turns them back into neutral gold atoms.

Göran

 

[IsaacUS]

You have misunderstood the article. Gold atoms can not be created from nothing, it is grown from the gold ions in solution.

Gold ions is just gold atoms that has lost one or more electrons. Ascorbic acid have the chemical energy to donate electrons to the gold ions which turns them back into neutral gold atoms.

Göran

Hey I wanna thank you for replying. I appreciate it.

Another thing they said in the article was that the added ascorbic acid and just mixed it at room temp. In the past I heated my solution to recover gold atoms. Which works best?

Another quick question is. The theory of enlargement and shrinking we often see in sci-fi. Why can't we ever increase the mass of an object without adding more of it. Just dealing with the one we have present? Other than using physics, is there a way to enlarge mass using just simple chemistry?

 

[Yggdrasil]

I think that spesific kind of process belongs under the realms of Merlin and his kind.
For us meager mortals, it is called magic

 

[IsaacUS]

I think that spesific kind of process belongs under the realms of Merlin and his kind.
For us meager mortals, it is called magic

Hahahahah. Well put.
Thanks

 

[anachronism]

Isaac it's basically a good way to precipitate gold from a pregnant Gold Chloride solution.