Spectrophotometric investigation of the nature and stability of silver(II) in acidic sulphate media

A spectrophotometric study of silver(II) in sulphuric acid solution indicates the formation of two sulphate complexes, in the range 4–18M H₂SO₄, with absorbance peak maxima at 361 and 260 mμ, respectively. In 15M H₂SO₄ the molar absorptivity of silver(II) is 3.11 × 10⁴ at 361 mμ. Kinetic studies of the reduction of silver(II) by the solvent suggest a rate-determining step first order in silver(II) and yield a pseudo first-order rate constant of 1.9 × 10⁻¹min⁻¹. Further studies as a function of H₂SO₄ concentration show that the specific decomposition rate of the two complexes is identical and that changes in H₂SO₄ concentration only serve to shift the concentration equilibrium between the two complexes.