Separation of silver from copper - very interesting, but labor-intensive process. In pure form silver cannot almost be met, usually it is used with copper, then it develops strength that allows to make of it products. How to receive silver in pure form?
It is required to you
- - nitric acid
- - hydrochloric acid
Instruction
1. Examine the product consisting of alloy of copper and silver. It can be a piece of jewelry, ware, coins, case details. For a start define whether there is in a product a copper. Copper has no magnetic properties, but is a great conductor of electricity. Houses, for example, it is possible to find a copper wire in usual wires or in radio components. So: Take a copper product.
2. Clean a product from oxides and carefully wash its warm solution alkalis. Then rinse with usual water.
3. Define silver. For this purpose buy "chrompeak" - it is a special reactant for silver. Is on sale in specialized shops for jewelers. If metal – silver, then a reactant reacts in orange color.
4. It is possible to define silver also in one more way. Prepare the following mix: 1 part of nitric acid + 1 part of bichromate of potassium. Moisten with the received mix the defined place. It has to gain red color if material contains not less than 0.3 silver.
5. Separation of copper from silver. Fill in a product with nitric acid (10%). It has to be dissolved completely. At you the solution containing copper and salts of silver will turn out.
6. Now it is simple to separate copper from silver: evaporate this solution; calcinate the received powder (it will be expedient to do this process in a porcelain cup); cool it; dissolve in the usual distilled water (in two parts). Solution which contains silver nitrate will turn out, it is necessary to remove it from a deposit.
7. Restore metal silver from salts.
8. It is possible to separate copper from silver also in the following way: dissolve a silver-copper product in nitric acid, add hydrochloric acid.
9. Further wash the chloride silver (besieged) with water and restore from it silver by means of zinc and the diluted hydrochloric acid.