Silver oxide is the inorganic compound

Inorganic compound

Inorganic compounds have traditionally been considered to be of inanimate, non-biological origin. In contrast, organic compounds have an explicit biological origin. However, over the past century, the classification of inorganic vs organic compounds has become less important to scientists,...

 with the formula AgO. It is a component of silver oxide-zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

 alkaline batteries

Alkaline battery

Alkaline batteries are a type of primary batteries dependent upon the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide . A rechargeable alkaline battery allows reuse of specially designed cells....

. It can be prepared by the slow addition of a silver(I) salt to a persulfate solution e.g. AgNO₃

Silver nitrate

Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...

 to a Na₂S₂O₈

Sodium persulfate

Sodium persulfate is a chemical compound. It is a strong oxidizer. It is a severe irritant of skin, eyes, and respiratory system. It is almost non-hygroscopic and has particularly good ability to be stored for long time. It is easy and safe to handle...

 solution. It adopts an unusual structure, being a mixed-valence compound.

Structure

The empirical formula AgO might suggest that silver is in the +2 oxidation state

Oxidation state

In chemistry, the oxidation state is an indicator of the degree of oxidation of an atom in a chemical compound. The formal oxidation state is the hypothetical charge that an atom would have if all bonds to atoms of different elements were 100% ionic. Oxidation states are typically represented by...

, however, AgO is diamagnetic

Diamagnetism

Diamagnetism is the property of an object which causes it to create a magnetic field in opposition to an externally applied magnetic field, thus causing a repulsive effect. Specifically, an external magnetic field alters the orbital velocity of electrons around their nuclei, thus changing the...

. X-ray diffraction studies show that silver atoms adopt two different coordination environments, one having two collinear oxide neighbours and the other four coplanar oxide neighbours.. AgO is therefore formulated as Ag^IAg^IIIO₂ or Ag₂O·Ag₂O₃. It is also known as silver peroxide, although it does not have peroxide

Peroxide

A peroxide is a compound containing an oxygen–oxygen single bond or the peroxide anion .The O−O group is called the peroxide group or peroxo group. In contrast to oxide ions, the oxygen atoms in the peroxide ion have an oxidation state of −1.The simplest stable peroxide is hydrogen peroxide...

(O₂²⁻) anions.