Which mechanism explains why silicon dioxide (SiO2) is transparent to visible light but absorbs ultraviolet radiation?

💡 Explanation

When UV radiation strikes SiO2, electronic transitions to higher molecular antibonding orbitals occur because the energy of UV photons matches the band gap energy between bonding and antibonding orbitals. Therefore, absorption and opacity in UV band result, rather than transparency; visible light lacks sufficient energy for these electronic transitions to occur.

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