The Dissolution Behavior of Silver and Copper from Silver and Copper Alloys

The dissolution behavior of copper and silver from Ag/Cu alloys in acidic media has been investigated in this study. The results are compared with those of pure metal systems The dissolution rates of pure copper and silver were found to be mixed controlled where mass transfer as well as chemical reaction at the metal/liquid interface are responsible for the overall leaching rate Silver/copper alloys of three compositions were used in this study. They are Ag 76.9 at. %/Cu 23.1 at. %, Ag 46.9 at. %/Cu 53.1 at. % and Ag24.1 at. %/Cu 75.9 at. %. The dissolution of silver was found to be very much affected by the concentration of ferric sulfate and the composition of copper in the alloy. However, the dissolution of copper was not affected greatly with the oxidant concentration or with the presence of silver in the alloy An empirical model has been developed to predict the dissolution rate of silver/copper alloy systems.