Silver sulfate

Silver sulfate is an inorganic compound with the formula Ag₂S O₄. It is a white solid with low solubility in water.

Preparation and structure

Silver sulfate precipitates when an aqueous solution of silver nitrate is treated with sulfuric acid:
It is purified by recrystallization from concentrated sulfuric acid, a step that expels traces of nitrate.
Silver sulfate and anhydrous sodium sulfate adopt the same structure.

The synthesis of silver sulfate with a divalent silver ion instead of a monovalent silver ion was first reported in 2010 by adding sulfuric acid to silver(II) fluoride. It is a black solid that decomposes exothermically at 120 °C with evolution of oxygen and the formation of the silver pyrosulfate.