Cyanogens
Cyanogens
Cyanogen is also
known as ethanedinitrile. Cyanogens may be prepared by heating the
cyanides of mercury of silver.
Hg(CN)2 ⟶ (CN)2 + Hg
Cyanogen is
a poisonour, colourless gas, b.p. -21oC, and is stable in spite of
the fact that its heat of formation is +292.9 kJ mol-1. It is
hydrolysed by water, the main products being hydrocyanic acid and cyanic acid,
and minor products being oxamide and ammonium formate.
When cyanogens
is heated at 400oC, it polymerises to paracyanogen, which at 800oC,
regenerates cyanogens. The structure of cyanogens is probably best represented
as a resonance hybrid, (I) being the most important:
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