ammonium cyanate
{{Short description|Ionic chemical compound with formula [NH4]+ [OCN]-}}
{{Chembox
| Name =
| ImageFile = NH4OCN.png
| ImageFile1 = Ammonium-cyanate-3D-vdW.png
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| ImageFile2 = Ammonium-cyanate-xtal-Mercury-3D-balls.png
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| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
| CASNo = 22981-32-4
| PubChem = 9793686
| ChemSpiderID = 2339431
| StdInChI=1S/CHNO.H3N/c2-1-3;/h3H;1H3
| StdInChIKey = QYTOONVFPBUIJG-UHFFFAOYSA-N
| SMILES = C(#N)[O-].[NH4+] }}
| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
| Formula = {{chem2|[NH4][OCN]}}
| C=1|H=4|N=2|O=1
| Appearance = Colorless crystals
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Ammonium cyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula {{chem2|[NH4]+[OCN]-}}. It is a colorless, solid salt.
Structure and reactions
The structure of this salt was verified by X-ray crystallography. The respective C–O and C–N distances are 1.174(8) and 1.192(7) Å, consistent with the {{chem2|O\dC\dN-}} description. Ammonium cation {{chem2|[NH4]+}} forms hydrogen bonds with cyanate anion {{chem2|O\dC\dN-}}, but to N, not to O.{{cite journal|title=Ammonium cyanate shows N-H···N hydrogen bonding, not N-H···O|author1=MacLean, Elizabeth J. |author2=Harris, Kenneth D. M. |author3=Kariuki, Benson M. |author4=Kitchin, Simon J. |author5=Tykwinski, Rik R. |author6=Swainson, Ian P. |author7=Dunitz |author8=Jack D.|journal= Journal of the American Chemical Society|year=2003|volume=125|issue=47 |pages=14449–14451|doi=10.1021/ja021156x|pmid=14624593 }}
The compound is notable as the precursor in the Wöhler synthesis of urea, an organic compound, from inorganic reactants.{{cite journal
| title = Ueber künstliche Bildung des Harnstoffs
| author = Friedrich Wöhler
| journal = Annalen der Physik und Chemie
| volume = 88
| issue = 2
| pages = 253–256
| year = 1828
| doi = 10.1002/andp.18280880206
| url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/itempdf/127264|bibcode = 1828AnP....88..253W }} This contributed to the discarding of the Vital force theory, suggested earlier by Berzelius.
:{{chem2|NH4+ + OCN- → (NH2)2CO}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1039/CS9780700001|title=The conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea. A saga on Reaction mechanisms|author=Shorter, J.|journal=Chemical Society Reviews|year=1978|volume=7|pages=1–14}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ammonium salts}}
{{Cyanates}}
{{inorganic-compound-stub}}