Evidence for Colloidal Disorder in the Small Band Gap Azides

Evidence for Colloidal Disorder in the Small Band Gap Azides fl. AgNs 

It may be surprising that the colloidal silver is predominantly on the surface, especially because the minimum penetration of the UV light is about 10 cm. The observations imply either an efficient mechanism of the transfer of energy 

After thermal decomposition of AgN3, Bartlett et al. [98] observed only one optical extinction band with unpolarized light at 490 nm, in agreement with 

A peak in the photoconductivity observed in the vicinity of 700 nm in partially decomposed AgNa was attributed to optical excitation of electrons from colloidal silver into the conduction band [92,98]. The photocurrents may lead to the optical bleaching discussed above. Strong photocurrents were also observed in the 500-420 nm range in colored material and may be associated with the other bands reported including the colloidal band. Although photocurrents were not observed in uncolored material at these wavelengths by Bartlett et al. 

It is interesting to consider briefly the results of decomposition of AgNa by an electron beam. The interpretation is, however, complicated by the heating of the material by the electron beam, thus also causing thermal decomposition during irradiation. Electron microscopy and, in particular, electron diffraction indicated the formation of two types of metallic Ag as a result of this treatment 

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