6/12/2012 - Synthesis of Silver Iodide

One of my fellow chemists asked me if I knew where she could purchase a single silver iodide crystal, and after a while searching without an answer I looked up the synthesis of this metal compound.  The procedure is fairly simple starting with dissolving silver nitrate (AgNO₃) in water, followed with the addition of potassium iodide (KI). A yellow precipitate will form immediately containing both the α-AgI and the β-AgI crystals which can be separated through different dissolution methods.

AgNO_{3 (aq)} + KI_(aq) → KNO_{3 (aq)} + AgI_(s)

Source: O. Glemser, H. Saur "Silver Iodide" in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 1. p. 1036-7