Nitrosyl cyanide


Nitrosyl cyanide is the compound with the molecular formula ONCN. It is a blue-green gas. The compound has been invoked as a product of the oxidation of cyanamide catalyzed by the enzyme glucose oxidase.

Structure, synthesis, reactivity

In terms of its structure, nitrosyl cyanide is planar. It is strongly bent at the internal nitrogen, analogous to the structure of nitrosyl chloride. The C-N-O angle is 113°. The NCN angle is 170°.
The compound can be generated by the reaction of nitrosyl chloride and silver cyanide at low temperatures. It is not typically isolated, but trapped by Diels-Alder reactions, e.g. with butadiene. Cycloadditions occur across the N=O bond. It forms a reversible adduct with 9,10-dimethylantracene.

Related compound