Silver Chloride (AgCl) - Properties and Applications

Background

The chemical formula for Silver Chloride is AgCl. It is usually available as a white crystalline solid. However, due to its light sensitivity it can turn a deep grey blue upon prolonged exposure to light. This is due to its decomposition to silver metal and chlorine.

Silver chloride is virtually insoluble in water, but can be dissolved in aqueous solutions of ammonia, potassium cyanide and sodium thiocyanate.

Applications

Silver chloride is used in:

  • Photography films and plates
  • Reference electrodes e.g. in pH meters
  • Infrared windows where it can be used in contact with many aqueous solutions e.g. in FTIR spectrometers, in which case it can be an alternative to KBr, which is attacked by water.

Key Properties

Property Value
Density ( g.cm-3 ) 5.59
Melting Point ( °C ) 455
Young’s Modulus (GPa) 20
Poissons Ratio 0.4
Co-Efficient of Thermal Expansion ( /°C) at 20 °C 31x10-6
Dielectric Constant 12.3 at 1 MHz
Refractive Index 1.98 at 10 µm
2.02 at 1 µm
Maximum Recommended Service Temperature (°C) 200

Source: AZoM.com.

Comments

  1. Shaikh Zaheer Ud Din Shaikh Zaheer Ud Din Islamic Republic of Pakistan says:

    I like to know the use of AgCl in medicine. Can you please help me?

  2. Freda Seymour Freda Seymour United States says:

    can u use curad silver solution(silver chloride0.0055%) on  a dogs leg wound I purchased this cream at a store is this similar TO SILVER SULFADIAZINE CREAM USP 1%

  3. Denis Brown Denis Brown Nigeria says:

    how is AgCl used in photography

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AZoM.com.

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