New allotropic structures of silver

By the use of transmission and scanning electron microscopy and X-ray and electron diffraction techniques, evidence has been obtained of a new crystalline form of silver following its formation by the reduction of silver nitrate with sunlight in the presence of starch. Such crystals are hexagonal in form and have completely different reflections from that obtained by a projection along the [III] axis of the normal cubic silver. The X-ray diffraction data confirm that the new crystalline form is not due to the presence of the more likely impurities. Several other new forms of crystalline silver also appeared to be present although these have not been precisely characterized.