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Silver Tree Chemistry Demonstration

Silver Crystals on a Copper Tree

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In this simple chemistry demonstration or crystal project you'll grow a silver crystal tree. This is a variation of the classic method of growing silver crystals on a copper wire or bead of mercury.

Silver Crystal Tree Materials

All you need for this project is a silver salt solution and copper metal. Silver nitrate is one of the easiest silver compounds to obtain. Copper is used for safety reasons, but the project also works with other metals, such as mercury.

• Sheet of copper that has been cut into a tree shape or a tree made from copper wire
• 0.1 M silver nitrate solution

Grow a Silver Crystal Tree

The project couldn't be easier! Place the copper tree in a clear glass container. For the best effect, make sure the sides of the tree aren't touching the sides of the container. Add the silver nitrate solution so that it touches the tree.

How It Works

The reaction is a displacement or replacement reaction, where the copper takes the place of the silver. The silver is deposited on the copper metal, essentially electroplating it and eventually growing crystals.

2 Ag + + Cu → Cu 2+ + 2 Ag

When you are finished growing the silver crystals, you can remove the tree from the solution and use it as a decoration.

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Silver Crystal Tree Chemistry Demonstration

In this simple chemistry demonstration or crystal project you’ll grow a silver crystal tree. This is a variation of the classic method of growing silver crystals on a copper wire.

Silver Crystal Tree Materials

You only need two materials for this project:

• Copper tree – Sheet of copper that has been cut into a tree shape or a tree made from copper wire
• 0.1 M Silver nitrate solution

There are a few different ways to make the tree shape. One of the easiest is spiraling copper wire over a paper or cardboard cone to make a simple tree form.  Another method is wrapping thin copper wires around a thicker wire, leaving the ends of the thin wires out as branches. Another method uses tin snips to cut a tree shape out of a thin copper sheet.

Be careful to use uncoated copper. Because copper oxidizes in air, it is often treated or coated. If your copper has a coating, it’s not the end of the world. Dipping it into dilute hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid) and rinsing it in water removes most coatings and exposes the copper metal.

Grow a Silver Crystal Tree

All you is place the copper tree into the silver nitrate solution. Silver is reduced on the copper, forming silver crystals. Crystals begin forming immediately and should be visible within an hour. Meanwhile, the solution increases in concentration of copper(II) ions and develops a blue-green color.

You can allow the silver crystal tree to sit in an undisturbed location for a day or two for peak crystal growth. When you are finished growing the silver crystals, carefully remove the tree from the solution and use it as a decoration. Silver is a noble metal , so it resists tarnish.

How It Works

A single displacement reaction is responsible for crystal formation:

2 AgNO 3  + Cu → Cu(NO 3 ) 2  + 2 Ag

2 Ag + + Cu → Cu 2+ + 2 Ag

The silver nitrate in water dissociates into silver and nitrate ions. The silver and copper “trade places” so that silver metal takes the place of some copper, while some copper goes into solution. The copper ions change the color of the liquid, making it blue. This is also an example of a redox reaction written as its net ionic equation .

Silver is very far down the metal reactivity series . What this means is copper isn’t the only metal that works for this project. For example, silver also replaces mercury. If you happen to have mercury sitting around, you can place a bead into a container of silver nitrate and see the same effect.

Dendritic Silver Crystals

Silver crystals form dendrites, which look like ferns, branches, or trees (depending who you ask). Another simple project is to place a copper wire in silver nitrate solution and view crystal growth using a magnifying glass or microscope. The intricate structure of the metal crystals develops as you watch!

Here’s an example of the reaction on a piece of copper:

Is silver nitrate too expensive? Another redox reaction coats copper onto zinc and makes copper holiday ornaments . There are other metal crystals you can grow, too.

• Lide, David R., ed. (2009). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (90th ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-9084-0.
• Todd, Robert H.; Allen, Dell K.; Alting, Leo (1994). “Surface Coating”.  Manufacturing Processes Reference Guide . Industrial Press. ISBN 0-8311-3049-0.

Related Posts

“Silver tree” experiment

How to turn a copper tree into a silver one

In this beau­ti­ful ex­per­i­ment, we’ll show you how to make nee­dle-like sil­ver crys­tals us­ing cop­per.

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Wear pro­tec­tive gloves and glass­es. The re­ac­tive mix­ture must not be poured down the sink or into wa­ter tanks.

Reagents and equip­ment:

• cop­per tree;
• sil­ver ni­trate so­lu­tion 5 g/l;

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Put the cop­per tree in the beaker. Then pour the sil­ver ni­trate so­lu­tion over it. Ob­serve the sil­ver crys­tals set­tle on the sur­face of the tree.

Pro­cess­es de­scrip­tion

In the re­ac­tiv­i­ty se­ries of met­als, cop­per is to the left of sil­ver , so it can force sil­ver out of so­lu­tions of sil­ver salts. Shiny nee­dle-like sil­ver crys­tals ap­pear on the sur­face, and the so­lu­tion turns a blue col­or, as the cop­per ions move into the so­lu­tion. The col­or is un­even, as the lay­er of sil­ver is not durable and breaks off, thus “re­veal­ing” the cop­per . The cop­per re­acts in­creas­ing­ly with the sil­ver ni­trate so­lu­tion, and the con­cen­tra­tion of cop­per ions in these ar­eas in­creas­es, which means that the col­or­ing of the lay­er in­ten­si­fies

Cu + Ag­NO₃ = Ag + Cu(NO₃)₂

Dozens of experiments you can do at home

One of the most exciting and ambitious home-chemistry educational projects The Royal Society of Chemistry

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Silver Tree Redox Reaction

A copper wire coil in a Christmas tree shape is allowed to sit in a solution of silver nitrate. Within an hour silver metal needles form on the wire.

Copper metal is oxidized by the Ag1+ to Cu2+ and the Ag1+ ions are reduced by the copper metal to silver metal.