Silver Compounds

Abstract

Most silver compounds are made from aqueous silver nitrate, which in turn is made from silver metal. Silver compounds are found in nature, but are neither ubiquitous nor prevalent. Silver salts are therefore expensive. Much of the silver produced annually in the United States comes from recycled metal. The primary usage of silver compounds occurs in the photographic industry. Silver compounds are also utilized in batteries, as catalysts, to form the reflective backings of mirrors, and for electroplating silver. Silver(I) compounds and complexes are the most stable, although some materials of higher silver oxidation are known. Some aqueous silver solutions serve as antiseptics; other as analytic reagents.

Sources of silver in the environment

“…The toxicity estimates for the metal are based almost entirely on the free ion [19,20], which is clearly not of environmental relevance. Some of the compounds that are relevant, silver sulfide, for example, are of very low solubility [4–6] and so are essentially not available. While a number of silver compounds do not have a great deal of data that relate to their toxicity or lack thereof, most recent studies conclude that they are orders of magnitude less toxic than silver ions [2,3].…”

“…The monovalent ion is common in surface waters, as sulfide, bicarbonate, or sulfate salts or adsorbed onto organic or inorganic materials. Silver may also be found as a part of more complex ions with chlorides and sulfates [4,6]. Many of these forms are not soluble or are only sparingly soluble, and, as a result, their availability to biological organisms is not great.…”