Stability of Silver and Pyrex in Perchloric Acid-Silver Perchlorate Solutions and in Conductivity Water

The stability of mint silver, purified mint silver, and Pyrex fritted crucibles in aqueous solutions of perchloric acid, in aqueous solutions of perchloric acid containing silver perchlorate, and in conductivity water at room temperature was determined. The stability of the silver in various states of subdivision was studied. The corrosion current-density for mint silver in sheet form is 1.1 × 10(−8) amp cm(−2) for 20 percent aqueous solutions of perchloric acid, 1.3×10(−9) amp cm(−2) for 20 percent aqueous solutions of perchloric acid containing 0.5 percent silver perchlorate, and within the limits of detection is zero for conductivity water. Pyrex has high stability at 25° C in 20 percent aqueous solutions of perchloric acid and in 20 percent aqueous solutions of perchloric acid containing 0.5 percent silver perchlorate. Finely-divided silver contained in Pyrex crucibles was found to be highly stable when the crucibles were filled repeatedly with aqueous solutions of perchloric acid containing silver perchlorate, rinsed with conductivity water, and dried at 105° C. These observations are important in the determination of the faraday by the anodic dissolution of silver in aqueous solutions of perchloric acid which is now underway at the National Bureau of Standards.