Cyanide

Structure of the cyanide ion

Cyanide are chemical compounds that contains a C≡N functional group (a substituent which causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions). This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.

In inorganic cyanides, the cyanide group is present as the anion −C≡N. Soluble salts such as sodium cyanide (NaCN) and potassium cyanide (KCN) are highly toxic. Hydrocyanic acid (HCN), also known as hydrogen cyanide, is a highly volatile liquid that is produced on a large scale industrially. It is obtained by acidification of cyanide salts.

Organic cyanides are usually called nitriles. In nitriles, the C≡N group is linked by a covalent bond to carbon. Although nitriles generally do not release cyanide ions, the cyanohydrins do and are thus rather toxic.

Dependencies

• Carbon
• Nitrogen
  • Cyanide

See also

• Carbon dioxide
• Hydrogen
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Chemical compounds

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Cyanide, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).