Is AgCl Soluble or Insoluble | Solubility of Silver Chloride
Silver chloride is insoluble in water and form a white color precipitate in water. If it is explained in other way, you can see a white color solid is deposited at the bottom of the aqueous solution. You can verify AgCl's solubility by checking its solubility value and solubility product value.
When solubility and solubility product are too small, we can say a compounds has a less chance to dissolve.
When silver chloride as a solid (not as a precipitate in water) at room temperature, it is a white crystalline solid.
Solubility and solubility product of AgCl
Solubility and solubility product are good points to understand the solubility of a compound and they can be used to AgCl too.
Solubility of silver chloride in water
Solubility of AgCl is 520 µg/100 g of water at 500C. So it is a very low value and prove furthermore, AgCl is a precipitate in water.
Solubility product of silver chloride
Ksp of AgCl is 1.7 *10-10 mol2 dm-6 which is also low and again tells us AgCl is not soluble in water.
How AgCl precipitate is formed?
When AgNO3 is mixed with aqueous NaCl solution, AgCl white precipitate is deposited at the bottom of the aqueous solution. Also sodium nitrate (NaNO3) is given as the other salt.
NaCl(aq) + AgNO3(aq) → AgCl(s) + NaNO3(aq)
AgNO3 is a soluble aqueous colourless solution.
Solubility of AgCl in other solutions
In this section, we are going to find out, in which solutions AgCl will be dissolved?
Solubility in ammonia solution
AgCl is soluble in aqueous ammonia solution and give [Ag(NH3)2]Cl coordination complex compound. This [Ag(NH3)2]+ is a colourless solution.
But when solution is acidified, again AgCl precipitate forms.
Is AgCl is soluble in concentrated HCl?
When excess concentrated HCl is added to AgCl precipitate, precipitate dissolve and give colourless solution.
AgCl dissolves in alkali cyanide solutions
Note that, AgCl is not soluble in dilute acids.
Why and how do you say AgCl is not soluble in water
If you want to get proved AgCl is insoluble in water, compare its solubility and NaCl's solubility in water.
- Solubility of AgCl is 520 µg/100 ml of water at 500C
- Solubility of NaCl is 36 g/100 ml of water at 500C
- Look the difference of two values. Silver chloride's solibility is in micro grams scale (very small).
Other halides of silver ion
Silver chloride, silver bromide and silver iodide are precipitates and very useful in identification of halide ions in qualitative analysis of inorganic chemistry. Also they have colors when they form precipitates.
Colors of silver halides
| Silver halide name | Chemical formula | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Silver chloride | AgCl | white |
| Silver bromide | AgBr | light yellow / pale yellow |
| Silver iodide | AgI | Yellow |
Solubility of AgCl in ethanol
AgCl is not soluble in alcohols but soluble in alkali cyanide solutions.
Questions
is agcl aqueous soluble?
No. Silver chloride (AgCl) is not soluble and there is very less silver and chloride ions in the aqueous phase.
why AgCl is not soluble in water ?
AgCl is also not soluble in water, because the forces favouring formation of silver hydroxide (AgOH) are too weak to break the ionic bonds between silver and chlorine in AgCl. That means bond between silver cation and chloride ion is strong.
Is AgCl soluble in nitric acid?
Silver chloride does not react with nitric acid. Therefore, AgCl is not soluble in nitric acid
This question was an exam question.
What are the correct statements of followings about silver?
- All silver compounds are insoluble in water.
- AgCl is soluble in water and it is a colourless solution.
- Silver nitrate is a colourless solution.
- As silver chloride, silver bromide and silver iodide are precipitates.
Third and fourth statements are correct.
Is AgCl soluble in aqueous ammonia solution?
Yes. AgCl, white precipitate dissolve in aqueous ammonia solution and form colourless [Ag(NH3)2]+ coordination complex.
color of AgCl precipitate?
White