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Disilver oxide, Ag2O silver(I) oxide is ionic using the simple rule of thumb "metal plus non metal" gives an ionic compound. But looking more deeply it is probabaly best described as covalent.

Checking the electronegativities, Ag (1.93) O (3.44) the difference is only 1.5- which is borderline for ionic and covalent.

Looking at the crystal structure, Ag2O as the same structure as Cu2O.

Each silver atom has 4 near neighbour oxygen atoms and each oxygen has two near neighbour silver atoms. This very different from the more typical "antifluorite structures" of the more obviously ionic alkali metals where the metal atoms have 4 oxygen near neighbours and the oxygen atoms 8 metal atom near neighbours.

Additionally in Ag2O three atoms are in a line O Ag O indicating sp hybridisation.

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12y ago

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