How Does Silver Sulfide React With Acids?

Silver sulfide, also known as Ag2S, is insoluble in water and most acids. However, it does react with concentrated nitric acid (HNO3) and hot, concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4).

When silver sulfide reacts with concentrated nitric acid, the following reaction takes place:

Ag2S + 4HNO3 → 2AgNO3 + 2H2O + SO2 + 2NO2

Silver sulfide reacts with nitric acid to produce silver nitrate (AgNO3), water (H2O), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This reaction is due to the oxidizing property of nitric acid, which converts Ag2S into AgNO3.

When silver sulfide reacts with hot, concentrated sulfuric acid, the following reaction takes place:

Ag2S + 2H2SO4 → Ag2SO4 + 2H2O + SO2

In this reaction, silver sulfide reacts with sulfuric acid to produce silver sulfate (Ag2SO4), water (H2O), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The reaction occurs due to the strong acidic nature of sulfuric acid, which decomposes Ag2S into Ag2SO4.

It's worth noting that silver sulfide is not reactive with dilute acids such as hydrochloric acid (HCl) or acetic acid (CH3COOH).