## Gold and Nitric Acid

$\Delta G^{\circ} = -nFE_{cell}^{\circ}$

Kathleen Vidanes 1E
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:07 am

### Gold and Nitric Acid

Based on the example given during lecture (Will a gold ring dissolve in 1M nitric acid to form 1M Au3+ solution?),

Do we know that gold will not dissolve in 1M nitric acid solely because we end up with a positive deltaG°, meaning the reaction is unfavorable?

Wenxin Fan 1J
Posts: 53
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:00 am

### Re: Gold and Nitric Acid

That is one way to tell. You can look at the standard reduction potentials for the two half reactions to see what the sign of E˚ would be to determine if the reaction is spontaneous in one direction or the other.

Caroline Cox 1H
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 7:03 am

### Re: Gold and Nitric Acid

Yes, the the formation of aqueous gold from solid gold is not a spontaneous reaction and therefore a positive delta G alone means the gold will not dissolve.

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