Preparing Tollens Reagent:

The two-step reaction is:

2NaOH(aq) + 2AgNO3 (aq) 2NaNO3 (aq) + H2 O(l) + Ag 2 O(s)
and
Ag 2 O(s) + 4NH4 OH(l) 2[( ) ]+ (aq) + 3H2 O(l) + 2OH (aq)
where the bolded complex is the desired Tollens reagent.

This will be an example of how to make 50 mL of 10 mM Tollens reagent, but it can easily be modified for
any desired volume and/or concentration.
1) Determine the volume and concentration of Tollens reagent that you desire
o In this example, Ill be using 50 mL of 10 mM Tollens reagent
2) Once you do so, multiply the concentration of Tollens reagent by the volume to find how many
moles of Tollens reagent you desire. This will be how many moles of AgNO3 you want as well.
o In this example, its 50 mL * 10 mM = 500 mol of Tollens reagent and 500 mol of AgNO3
3) Take this number of moles of AgNO3 and convert it to grams using the molar mass of AgNO3 (i.e.
169.873 g/mol)
o In this example, 500 mol AgNO3 is approximately 0.085 g.
4) Mass this amount of AgNO3 and store safely
5) The AgNO3 is massed as a solid but needs to be in an aqueous solution. Add the proper amount
of water to match the desired volume/concentration
o In this example, youd need 50 mL of water to make 50 mL of 10 mM AgNO3
6) Now add the proper volume of 1 M NaOH (aq) to the AgNO3 aqueous solution
o In this example, itd be (50 mL)(10 mM) = (1 M)(VNaOH), which would be VNaOH = 0.5 mL in
this case
7) The clear solution should become brown (this is the silver oxide precipitate)
8) Now the silver oxide precipitate must be reacted to form the Tollens reagent, so add ammonium
hydroxide (NH4OH) until the solution becomes clear again. Be sure to mix as you add the
ammonium hydroxide. If you use a concentrated form of ammonium hydroxide, it should just be
a few microliters. Be sure to cap the ammonium hydroxide when youre not using it since the
smell is rather unsettling.