I did the following experiment:
2mL of 2% AgNO3 ethanolic solution was added to three test tubes
then, in each test tube, I added 2 drops of:
1. ethyl-bromide -> no reaction
2. isopropyl-bromide -> slow reaction
3. tert-butyl-bromide -> immediate reaction
but I'm not really sure what happens?
here is what I think:
R-Br -> R+ + Br- (1)
Ag+ + Br- -> AgBr (2)
R+ + H2O -> ROH2+ (3)
ROH2+ + NO3- -> ROH + HNO3 (4)
(I mean, ROH2+ + H2O -> ROH + H3O+ (5), and with NO3- present there, it's effectively HNO3)
if it's AgNO3 in >=96% EtOH then the EtOH is likely to do the water's dirty job: solvolysis (3) and collecting protons (5)