Where can you see silver dissolving in cyanide?

Answer 1

You don't dissolve anything IN cyanide as it is mostly stored as a sodium or potassium salt. I guess if you exposed such a salt to acid you could get a mildly acidic solvent akin to acetonitrile, but I doubt it.

To dissolve elemental silver, you just need something which "more willing to take electrons than elemental silver is willing to keep them" (electro potential dumbed down a bit)

I think that hydrochloride acid readily dissolves silver, as does any acid, as the proton (H+ / H3O+) is a sufficiently strong oxidizer.

Or maybe I am think of nitric acid.

But still I think that the proton is the actual oxidizer, it is for iron, copper and aluminium, I know without looking at tables, so I bet silver is oxidized by the proton too, OR the nitrate ion is the oxidized.

If HCl where used the result would NOT be dissolving of silver, as AgCl is very insoluble in water, the silver would just be converted to a white precipitate. IF the proton has a high enough potential, someone look it up.

Cyanide I would guess does NOT oxidize elemtal silver, as the compund is very electron rich with the tripple bond, I would guess is was a mild reducing agent rather than an oxidizing agent, but look it up, I never finished my chemistry degree, so...:D

Answer 2

Silver dissolving in cyanide can be observed in a laboratory setting or industrial environment where metal extraction processes are being carried out, such as in mining operations or metallurgical plants. It is important to note that working with cyanide requires strict safety measures and proper training due to its highly toxic nature.