Tarnished! Silver meets Sulfur
Silver doesn't react with oxygen, but it slowly reacts with sulfur, forming a black layer of silver sulfide. That is the tarnish on old silver.
The result
- What it makes
- Silver sulfide (tarnish)
- Equation
- 2Ag + S → Ag₂S
- When it happens
- At room temperature
Fun fact from Fizzy: Silver polish works by removing this black silver sulfide layer.