Question

why do gold and silver not corrode in moist air

Answer 1

What is Corrosion?

Corrosion is a process where a metal deteriorates as a result of its chemical reaction with the surrounding environment, mostly the gases that the metal get into contact with.

Corrosion, therefore, depends on the reactivity of a metal. It is for this reason that metals lower in the reactivity series like gold and silver do not corrode in moist air.

The reactivity series, from the most reactive metal to the least reactive metal is:

K                            

Na                         

Li                            

Ba                          

Sr                           

Ca                          

Mg                        

Al                           

Mn                        

Zn                          

Cr                           

Fe                          

Cd                          

Co                          

Ni                           

Sn                          

Pb                          

H2                          

Sb                          

Bi                           

Cu                          

Hg                          

Ag                          

Au                         

Pt                           

 

 

Answer 2

The reason for this is that gold and silver come towards the very end of the list of reactive metals found in the reactivity series. Because of this, they are not of capable of bonding with oxygen unlike the elements that are at the beginning of the series. As a result, the loss of electrons in these metals also tale place at a very slow rate. Hence, gold and silver are not prone to corrosion.