XRD and thermal studies of AgI confined in nm-size pores by forming porous silica-AgI composites

To investigate the nm-size dependence of structural and thermal properties for AgI, the formation of composites between AgI and porous silica with controlled pore diameters of 10, 15, 30, and 50 nm was examined. The introduction of AgI within the micropores of the porous silica was performed successfully by a salt-bridge precipitation method with using AgNO₃ and KI aqueous solutions. The AgI formed within the micropores was identified to be β/γ-AgI, independent of the pore size of 10-50 nm, by powder X-ray diffractometry. In differential scanning calorimetry, the composites showed thermal anomaly at around 150°C on heating due to the phase transition from β/γ -AgI to α -AgI as in the case of bulk crystalline AgI (T _trs=147°C). However, the transition temperature from α-AgI to β/γ -AgI on cooling decreased remarkably with the decrease of the pore size from 50 to 10 nm. The result indicates the possibility for AgI particles with diameter less than 10 nm to exist as α -AgI even below 100°C. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.