Pore size dependent behavior of hydrated Ag+ ions confined in mesoporous MCM-41 materials under synchrotron X-ray irradiation.

The behavior of hydrated Ag+ ions in a 1.5 mol dm(-3) AgNO3 aqueous solution confined in mesoporous silica MCM-41 with different pore sizes was characterized by synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The hydrated Ag+ ions are stabilized in 4-fold coordination down to 195 K in the pores (21 Å in diameter), whereas in the larger pores (28 Å) the hydrated Ag+ ions are reduced to Ag0 to form nano clusters with the Ag-Ag interactions of 2.80 Å.