0

Fulminating Gold and Silver

Curt Wentrup

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 Oct 14;58(42):14800-14808.

PMID: 31161624

Abstract:

This Essay deals with the fascinating and highly explosive compounds fulminating gold and fulminating silver, which are easily made by treatment of gold dissolved in aqua regia with ammonia, and by reaction of silver oxide or silver salts with ammonia, respectively. Fulminating gold in particular captivated the alchemists in the 16th to 18th centuries. Numerous preparations were described, as well as numerous attempts to make volatile, sublimable or distillable gold, and to use the products so obtained (which were most likely gold chlorides) to make the sought-after tincture, which would "heal" the "impure" metals and transform them into gold, and equally be a panacea to cure all human illnesses.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number Product Name Structure CAS Number Price
AP7440575 Gold Gold 7440-57-5 Price
qrcode