Gold parting valens") could be made by the distillation of saltpetre (KNO) with alum (KAl(SO)) or vitriol (FeSO) with water. 2KNO + HO + FeSO → FeO + KSO + 2HNO Nitric acid, after distillation to increase the acid strength, is capable of dissolving the silver but it will not (by itself) dissolve the gold. However, nitric acid is not able to (fully) extract silver and other impurities from an alloy with a high content of gold. Therefore, one part of scrap gold was typically alloyed with three parts of copper (quartering) before parting with nitric acid. Another method uses Sterling silver
Heteropoly acid Heteropoly acid A heteropoly acid is a class of acid made up of a particular combination of hydrogen and oxygen with certain metals and non-metals. This type of acid is a common re-usable acid catalyst in chemical reactions. To qualify as a heteropoly acid, the compound must contain: The metal addenda atoms linked by oxygen atoms form a cluster with the hetero-atom inside bonded via oxygen atoms. Examples with more than one type of metal addenda atom in the cluster are well known. The conjugate anion of a heteropoly acid is known as a polyoxometalate. Due to the possibilities of