Silver sulfate is the inorganic compound with the formula Ag2SO4. It is a white solid with low solubility in water.
Preparation and structure
Silver sulfate precipitates as a solid when an aqueous solution of silver nitrate is treated with sulfuric acid: 2AgNO3 + H2SO4 → Ag2SO4 + 2HNO3 It is purified by recrystallization from concentrated sulfuric acid, a step that expels traces of nitrate. Silver sulfate and anhydrous sodium sulfate adopt the same structure.
Silver(II) sulfate
The synthesis of silver(II) sulfate (AgSO4) with a divalent silver ion instead of a monovalent silver ion was first reported in 2010 by adding sulfuric acid to silver(II) fluoride (HF escapes). It is a black solid that decomposes exothermically at 120 °C with evolution of oxygen and the formation of the pyrosulfate.