Ishwar S. answered 05/08/19
University Professor - General and Organic Chemistry
AgCl (aq) ⇔ Ag+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)
AgCl has a solubility product constant value (Ksp) of 1.8 x 10-10. Since this Ksp value < 1, this indicates that the equilibrium reaction for the dissociation of AgCl favors the reactant side. As a result, AgCl has a very low solubility in water.
On the other hand, when aqueous ammonia is added to AgCl, an aqueous silver-ammonia complex ion (Ag(NH3)2+) is formed. The reaction is:
Ag+ (aq) + 2 NH3 (aq) ⇔ Ag(NH3)2+ (aq)
The formation constant (Ksp) for this silver-ammonia complex is 1.7 x 107. Since this Ksp value is > 1, this indicates that the equilibrium reaction favors the product side. Hence, Ag is more soluble in aqueous ammonia.