silver nitrate and ammonia: what do they do??

[thebillsfan]

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i've searched google for their usefulness in organic synthesis but can't really find anything. something about terminal alkenes?

 

[loveoforganic]

Sounds like a tollen's test.

 

[thebillsfan]

huh? i thought tollens had to do with sugars.

i know Na/NH3 will convert a cis alkyne to a trans alkyne, but i know it does something w/ alkenes too

 

[loveoforganic]

alkali metal in ammonia is the dissolving metal reduction and it's for alkynes.

diamino silver is used in the tollens' test to test for a reducing sugar. diamino silver is formed by reacting silver nitrate solution with sodium hydroxide to ppt out silver oxide, to which ammonia solution is added, which complexes the silver ion to form diamino silver.