A2 Chemistry
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Why do some metals not react with metals despite their position in the reactivity series?
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Ulex replies
I take it that you mean 'why do some metals not react with the ions of other metals despite...'
This is usually a matter of protective surface coatings. Aluminium, with its cohesive surface coating of oxide, is notorious for this. But other transition metals such as chromium show the same phenomenon. Some metals are slow to react; for example mercury will displace silver from silver nitrate solution, but it takes hours to produce rather beautiful long spiky silver crystals. Sometimes the insolubility of the by-product is a bar to displacement. Lead compounds are a case in point but there are others.
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updated: 28 July 2008
