Editing Silver (section)

===Other inorganic compounds===
[[File:Silver.webm|thumb|Silver crystals forming on a copper surface in a silver nitrate solution. Video by [[Maxim Bilovitskiy]]. ]]
[[File:Silver nitrate crystals.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.45|Crystals of silver nitrate]]
White [[silver nitrate]], AgNO<sub>3</sub>, is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, especially the halides, and is much less sensitive to light. It was once called ''lunar caustic'' because silver was called ''luna'' by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the Moon.<ref name="Abbri-2019">{{cite journal | last=Abbri | first=Ferdinando | title=Gold and silver: perfection of metals in medieval and early modern alchemy | journal=Substantia | date=2019| doi=10.13128/Substantia-603 | pages=39–44 | url=https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/603 | access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.die.net/lunar%20caustic |title=Definition of Lunar Caustic |website=dictionary.die.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131215637/http://dictionary.die.net/lunar%20caustic |archive-date=31 January 2012 }}</ref> It is often used for gravimetric analysis, exploiting the insolubility of the heavier silver halides which it is a common precursor to.<ref name="Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007" /> Silver nitrate is used in many ways in [[organic synthesis]], e.g. for [[deprotection]] and oxidations. Ag<sup>+</sup> binds [[alkene]]s reversibly, and silver nitrate has been used to separate mixtures of alkenes by selective absorption. The resulting [[adduct]] can be decomposed with [[ammonia]] to release the free alkene.<ref>{{OrgSynth|author1 = Cope, A. C.|author2 = Bach, R. D.|title = trans-Cyclooctene|collvol = 5|collvolpages = 315|year = 1973|prep = cv5p0315}}</ref>

Yellow [[silver carbonate]], Ag<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> can be easily prepared by reacting aqueous solutions of [[sodium carbonate]] with a deficiency of silver nitrate.<ref name="Coleman-1955">{{OrgSynth | author1 = McCloskey C.M.| author2= Coleman, G.H. | title = β-d-Glucose-2,3,4,6-Tetraacetate | collvol = 3 | collvolpages = 434 | year = 1955 | prep = cv3p0434}}</ref> Its principal use is for the production of silver powder for use in microelectronics. It is reduced with [[formaldehyde]], producing silver free of alkali metals:<ref name="Brumby et al-1">Brumby et al.</ref>
:Ag<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> + CH<sub>2</sub>O → 2 Ag + 2 CO<sub>2</sub> + H<sub>2</sub>

Silver carbonate is also used as a [[reagent]] in organic synthesis such as the [[Koenigs–Knorr reaction]]. In the [[Fétizon oxidation]], silver carbonate on [[celite]] acts as an [[oxidising agent]] to form [[lactone]]s from [[diols]]. It is also employed to convert [[alkyl]] bromides into [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]]s.<ref name="Coleman-1955" />

[[Silver fulminate]], AgCNO, a powerful, touch-sensitive [[explosive]] used in [[percussion cap]]s, is made by reaction of silver metal with nitric acid in the presence of [[ethanol]]. Other dangerously explosive silver compounds are [[silver azide]], AgN<sub>3</sub>, formed by reaction of silver nitrate with [[sodium azide]],<ref>{{cite book|url = https://archive.org/details/Explosives._6th_Edition| page = [https://archive.org/details/Explosives._6th_Edition/page/n296 284]| title = Explosives| last1 = Meyer |first1=Rudolf| last2 = Köhler |first2=Josef| last3 = Homburg |first3=Axel| name-list-style = amp |publisher = Wiley–VCH| date = 2007| isbn = 978-3-527-31656-4}}</ref> and [[silver acetylide]], Ag<sub>2</sub>C<sub>2</sub>, formed when silver reacts with [[acetylene]] gas in ammonia solution.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" /> In its most characteristic reaction, silver azide decomposes explosively, releasing nitrogen gas: given the photosensitivity of silver salts, this behaviour may be induced by shining a light on its crystals.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" />

: 2 {{chem|AgN|3}} (s) → 3 {{chem|N|2}} (g) + 2 Ag (s)