The salt can be easily prepared by oxidizing a soluble silver salt with excess potassium peroxydisulfate in aqueous pyridine solution, where upon the product precipitates out almost quantitatively.

It dissolves in concentrated nitric acid without reduction, and is converted to the black silver(I,III) oxide in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution.

When the pyridine ligands were removed, the transient square planar [Ag(H2O)4]2+ remains, which spontaneously oxidizes water to oxygen.

[3] Benzylic C-H bonds are oxidatively converted to carbonyl groups:[3] Aromatic thiols and allylaryl thioethers are oxidized to arylsulfonic acids, which gives an alternative route to produce arylsulfonic acids with mild conditions.

The complex also releases tiny amounts of pyridine vapor which is a possible carcinogen.