Optical and ESR studies of radiolytically reduced species of Ag(I) complexes in organic solid solutions at 77 K

Ag(I) complexes in ethanol and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran solid solutions were reduced by γ-irradiation at 77 K. The hyperfine coupling constants due to silver observed in the ESR spectra of the reduction products indicate that the excess electron is localized mainly on the 5s orbital of the silver atoms for Ag(I)–β-diketones but not for Ag(I) complexes coordinated with nitrogen atoms in either solid. It has been found that the isotropic hyperfine coupling constants of Ag0 in Ag(0)–β-diketones depend on the solvent.