silver oxide powder

[Garrick]

Ok so I hear that you can actually make ionic silver from silver oxide powder, but I also hear that its not very water soluble, only very slightly water soluble. How long would it take to actually mixing a batch of silver oxide powder with distilled and get it to competely disolve so that its usable and safe? Also read that you can reduce it at 212 degrees and turn the silver oxide liquid into Pure CS, which i think would be interesting and fun to try.

[Kephra]

I tried it, and it took about a month to dissolve.  You can take a gallon of distilled water, add a couple grams of silver oxide, wait a month, and siphon off the clear liquid which will be about 20ppm silver oxide.  Then you can just add more DW. 

Silver oxide dissolves like limestone.....  very slowly, but it does dissolve.  The reason it dissolves so slowly from powder but yet dissolves quickly when made by electrolysis is that the power particles are very large, while electrolysis releases it one molecule at a time.

One of these days, I am going to experiment with dissolving silver oxide along with sodium hydroxide and reducing sugar.  I should end up with yellow metallic CS, and should be able to make more than 20ppm that way.

[Garrick]

Im guessing that will make it more soluble, So what happens to the sodium hydroxide after the silver has been dissolved, does it dissapate or does some remain?  I was checking out a website called lakes metals(?) where they sell the stuff. Its interesting to see the different metals and salts and how some can explode if mixed together.

[Kephra]

I think you mean SaltLake Metals.  That is where I got my silver oxide and gold chloride.

[Garrick]

yeah saltlake metals. They're cool people. I tried making some CS today running the hot plate at 212 degrees. But all I got after a few hours was silver oxide, any idea why it wasn't converting?

[Kephra]

Do you mean you started with silver oxide, or were you doing electrolysis?

[Garrick]

I actually started using electrolysis with 1ppm distilled. and for some reason it wasnt changing to yellow. The ppms kept increasing but that was it...?

[Kephra]

How long, and did you add anything to the water?
What is your power supply voltage?

[Garrick]

im using 39volts,  1350Ma dc and did'nt add anything to the water, just pure distilled, no sodium chloride or carbohydrates

[Kephra]

Then it will take a long time because the conductivity of the water is very low.  Your power supply might say 1350ma, but that is not what is going through your electrodes.  The current that is actually flowing is subject to ohms law,  current = voltage divided by resistance. 
Starting with pure water, I doubt you have more than .04 milliamps.   At 1 ma, it takes 75 minutes to make 250ml of 20ppm silver. 

[Garrick]

Im also starting with 1000ml of distilled. Where do you suggest I be milliamps and amps wise in order to get the 20 ppm in say 30 minutes?

[Kephra]

You will have to be at 10ma constantly for 30 ma minutes.  To do that, you need a current regulator, and you will have to add some electrolyte; enough to put the regulator into its active range.  You can do that by measuring the voltage across the electrodes and adding salt  or sodium hydroxide solution drop by drop until the voltage starts to drop.  This only works if you have a regulator.