[2] Fulminating silver was first prepared in 1788 by the French chemist Claude Louis Berthollet.

[5] 70 years earlier, in 1716 Johann Kunckel von Löwenstern had already described the preparation.

Whether silver nitride is formed depends on the concentration of ammonia in the solution.

Silver nitride may appear as black crystals, grains, crusts, or mirrorlike deposits on container walls.

Suspected deposits may be dissolved by adding dilute ammonia or concentrated ammonium carbonate solution, removing the explosion hazard.