How to Make Ionic Silver

Ionic silver is silver as an ion. The most common type of ionic silver is silver nitrate. Silver nitrate can be easily produced from pure silver and nitric acid. Ionic silver has been hyped as a 'cure' for many illnesses and diseases, but in October 2009 the United States Food and Drug Administration issued an alert concerning side effects and drug interaction associated with the use of ionic silver.

Things You'll Need

• Glass test tube
• Nitric acid
• Silver
• pH test strip
• Personal protection equipment
• Acid of counter-ion

Instructions

1. Fill half of the test tube with nitric acid.

2. Add a small piece of silver.

3. The acid will eat away at the silver until the silver fully dissolves. This will create tiny bubbles of hydrogen gas.

4. Once the hydrogen gas stops being produced, gently shake the test tube to complete the reaction.

5. Add 1/4 of the test tube of the acid counter-ion. This will exchange the nitrate for the counter-ion and the product will precipitate out of solution.

6. Pour off the liquid and wash the precipitate with distilled water. The type of silver used as a 'cure' is silver carbonate and silver hydroxide. In these cases, the counter-ions would be produced from sodium carbonate or silver hydroxide.

Tips & Warnings

• Nitric acid is corrosive and hazardous to work with. Always use the appropriate personal protection equipment when dealing with any acid.

• Ionic silver should not be consumed in any manner. According to the FDA, "It is unlawful for a manufacturer to represent a dietary supplement containing silver as able to prevent, diagnose, mitigate, treat, or cure any disease."

References

• Silver nitrate
• Nitric acid

Resources

• FDA Alert: Dietary Supplements Containing Silver