Silver dissolution in acid thiocarbamide solutions containing sulfide ions

Abstract

Regularities of silver dissolution in acid thiocarbamide electrolytes are studied. The kinetics of the process is shown to be severely affected by the admixture of hydrogen sulfide molecules that form upon inserting sodium sulfide or accumulate in electrolyte with the passage of time elapsed since its preparation. Catalytic effect increases with increasing length of time of the electrode’s contact with solution prior to the beginning of experiment or following an increase in the concentration of sulfide ions. Experiments with the surface renewed in the course of potential scans show that the catalytic effect is connected with the adsorption of sulfide ions on an interface. At large values of the surface coverage with sulfide ions, the dissolution rate increases so much that the dissolution process starts to be limited largely by the process of supply of thiocarbamide molecules toward the electrode surface.