I spent a good bit of time last night researching silver hydroxide and silver oxide. I found some interesting information.
The solubility product ( pK^0)for silver hydroxide is about 7.7 ( http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/1994/pdf/6603x0641.pdf ), and the solubility product for silver oxide is also 7.7. This gives a solubility of 13 ppm for both silver hydroxide and silver oxide. Silver hydroxide is actually Ag2(OH)2, not AgOH, being formed by a pair of silver atoms. I had found this out some time ago, but did not realize how important it was. Silver oxide is Ag2O. In solution each continually transforms into the other, so that in pure water with a ph of 7, approximately equal amounts of silver hydroxide and silver oxide are present, no matter which you start with. If you increase the amount of OH radicals in the water, ie make it more alkaline, then the ratio favors the silver hydroxide. The equation for this is: Ag2(OH)2 <=> Ag2O + H2O So the ionic portion of colloidal silver is a mixture of silver hydroxide and silver oxide, each with a solubility of just over 13 ppm. If the pH is correct then the limit of solubility should be twice that or between 26 and 27 ppm. If the pH is shifted from neutral, then one will be favored over the other, and the solubility of the total will drop. I think this explains a number of things, like why it is easy to make colloidal silver to about 13 ppm ionic, and with care can be made to about 25 ppm ionic, but very difficult go much beyond that point. It also tells us just what the ionic portion of the colloidal silver is, turns out it is NOT silver hydroxide or silver oxide, but a solution of both of them. Marshall -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
