Gold Aqua Regia and Applications

Aqua regia is primarily used to produce chloroauric acid, the electrolyte in the Wohlwill process.

This process is used for refining highest quality (99.999%) gold. This is pure gold!!

Aqua regia is also used in etching and in specific analytic procedures. It is also used in some laboratories to clean glassware of organic compounds and metal particles.

This method is preferred over the "traditional" chromic acidbath for cleaning NMR tubes, because no traces of paramagnetic chromium can remain to later spoil acquired spectra.

Furthermore, chromic acid baths are discouraged because of the high toxicity of chromium and the potential for explosions. Aqua regia is itself very corrosive and has been implicated in several explosions due to mishandling.

About Gold Aqua Regia

Aqua regia or aqua regis (Latin for royal water or king's water) is a highly corrosive, fuming yellow or red solution, also called nitro-hydrochloric acid.

The mixture is formed by freshly mixing concentrated nitric acid and concentrated hydrochloric acid, usually in a volumetric ratio of 1:3 respectively. It was so named because it can dissolve the so-called "royal metals," or noble metals, gold and platinum.

However, tantalum, iridium, osmium, titanium and a few other metals are capable of withstanding chemical attack from it

I am fully aware of this process as I used to work for a company who does carry out the mixing.

Gold Aqua Regia Welcome site

Welcome to the Gold Aqua Regia site!

This blog will help you to learn all the tips and tricks you need to know about Gold Aqua Regia.