Silver and gold have rather low chemical affinities for oxygen, lower than copper, and it is therefore expected that silver oxides are thermally quite unstable. Soluble silver(I) salts precipitate dark-brown silver(I) oxide, Ag2O, upon the addition of alkali.
The chemical properties of silver and its oxides are influenced by their low affinity for oxygen, leading to thermal instability. The precipitation of silver(I) oxide upon contact with alkali is a consequence of this reactivity.