![]() ![]() ![]() Tollens went to school in Hamburg, Germany, and his science teacher was Karl Möbius. It’s one of those odd situations where everyone – well, everyone who’s studied A level Chemistry anyway – knows the name, but hardly anyone seems to have any idea who the person was. The reaction is named after Bernhard Tollens, a German chemist who was born in the mid-19th century. Ready? Let’s get started!īernhard Tollens (click for link to image source) No, this is a story of chemistry, biochemistry, physics, astronomy, and artisan glass bauble producers. It works because aldehydes are readily oxidised or, looking at it the other way round, the silver ions (Ag +) are readily reduced by the aldehyde to form silver metal (Ag) – check out this Compound Interest graphic for a bit more detail.īut this is not just the story of an interesting little experiment for chemists. This reaction is handy for chemists because the silver mirror only appears with aldehydes and not with other, similar molecules (such as ketones). Combine this concoction with an aldehyde in a glass container and warm it up a bit and it forms a beautiful silver layer on the glass. For those that don’t know, this involves a mixture of silver nitrate, sodium hydroxide and ammonia (which has to be freshly made every time as it doesn’t keep). The other day it was time for the famous Tollens’ reaction. ![]()
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