Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 3, 2026

Silver nitrite

Silver nitrite is an inorganic compound with the formula AgNO2.

Last revised
Jun 3, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
392 w
Citations
6
Source
Silver nitrite
Silver nitrite
Silver nitrite source ↗
Names
IUPAC name
Silver(I) nitrite
Other names
Argentous nitrite
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.029.128
EC Number
  • 232-041-7
UNII
  • InChI=1S/Ag.HNO2/c;2-1-3/h;(H,2,3)/q+1;/p-1
    Key: KKKDGYXNGYJJRX-UHFFFAOYSA-M
  • N(=O)[O-].[Ag+]
Properties
AgNO2
Molar mass 153.87 g/mol
Appearance colorless to yellow crystals
Melting point 140 °C (284 °F; 413 K)
0.155 g/100 mL (0 °C)
0.275 g/100 mL (15 °C)
1.363 g/100 mL (60 °C)
Solubility insoluble in ethanol
−42.0·10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
GHS labelling:1
GHS03: OxidizingGHS07: Exclamation markGHS09: Environmental hazard
Warning
H272, H302, H315, H319, H400
P210, P220, P221, P264, P270, P273, P280, P301+P312, P302+P352, P305+P351+P338, P321, P330, P332+P313, P337+P313, P362, P370+P378, P391, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
Safety data sheet (SDS) Sigma-Aldrich
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Silver nitrite is an inorganic compound with the formula AgNO2.2

Production

Silver nitrite is produced from the reaction between silver nitrate and an alkali nitrite, such as sodium nitrite.3 Silver nitrite is much less soluble in water than silver nitrate, and a solution of silver nitrate will readily precipitate silver nitrite upon addition of sodium nitrite:

AgNO3 + NaNO2 → NaNO3 + AgNO2

Alternatively, it can be produced by the reaction between silver sulfate and barium nitrite.

Applications

Silver nitrite has many applications. Notable examples include:

References

References

  1. "Silver nitrite". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. American elements
  3. Kornblum, N.; Ungnade, H. E. (1958). "1-Nitroöctane (Octane, 1-nitro-)" (PDF). Organic Syntheses. 38: 75. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. Waldman, Steve; Monte, Aaron, Monte; Bracey, Ann & Nichols, David (1996). "One-pot Claisen rearrangement/O-methylation/alkene isomerization in the synthesis of ortho-methoxylated phenylisopropylamines". Tetrahedron Letters. 37 (44): 7889–7892. doi:10.1016/0040-4039(96)01807-2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Nociarova, Jela; Purkait, Anisha; Gyepes, Robert; Hrobarik, Peter (2024). "Silver-Catalyzed Skeletal Editing of Benzothiazol-2(3H)-ones and 2-Halogen-Substituted Benzothiazoles as a Rapid Single-Step Approach to Benzo[1,2,3]Thiadiazoles". Organic Letters. 26: 619–624.