Silver Chloride Formula

Find out the Chemical Formula of Silver Chloride

Silver is a less reactive metal that forms salts by replacing the hydrogen atoms of the acids. Its valency is 1 and it forms a chloride by reacting with hydrochloric acid in particular conditions. In this section, you will learn the silver chloride formula and its properties. It is an inorganic salt with a particular set of physical and chemical properties. Keep on reading to find the chemical formula of silver chloride explained properly in this article to learn.

Silver Chloride: A Short Introduction

Silver chloride is an inorganic crystalline salt. It is a white powder when solid and does not dissolve in an aqueous, acidic, or basic solution properly. Silver is not highly reactive. To prepare this salt, silver nitrate is reacted with sodium chloride. As sodium is situated higher in the electrochemical series, it replaces the nitrate ion (NO3-) ion and combines with it. The silver ion (Ag-) is left to react and combine with the Chloride ion (Cl-) to form silver chloride (AgCl).

If you see the chemical formula of silver chloride properly, you will find that the valence shell of this metal has only one electron to share with the chlorine ion to form this inorganic salt. Hence, only one atom of silver reacts with one atom of chlorine to form a molecule of silver chloride. Now that you know the valency of silver and chlorine, you can easily find out the formula of silver chloride. It is:

Ag+ - Cl-

The other name given to the formula of silver chloride used is Chloro Silver. It was also called Chlorargyrite. This crystalline white solid is used for different purposes. It has a set of chemical features that are used for various purposes.

Nature of Silver Chloride

Now that we have learned the chemical formula of silver chloride, let’s move on to its physical properties. It is a crystalline white solid with a molecular weight of 143.32 grams/mol. The density of this solid salt is 5.56 gram/cm3. The melting point of this solid is 455 °C. The boiling point of this salt is 1547 °C.

Silver chloride is the perfect example of a salt that cannot form an aqueous solution. It cannot be dissolved in dilute acids and alcohols either. To make it soluble, we use ammonia, alkali cyanides, potassium bromide, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid. You will study about equations of these dissolution reactions displaying the formula for silver chloride and the respective changes occurring in its molecular formula.

As per the chemical name of AgCl, it is highly corrosive to different metals situated above silver in the electrochemical series. It is also toxic to nature. It causes irritation when exposed to the skin, eyes, and respiratory system. It is also light sensitive and is used to prepare photographic films.

Conclusion

Learn the silver chloride formula and the different features of this salt properly to answer questions and score more in the exam.