Ammonium cyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a colorless, solid salt.
The structure of this salt was verified by X-ray crystallography. The respective CâÂÂO and CâÂÂN distances are 1.174(8) and 1.192(7) ÃÂ, consistent with the description. Ammonium cation forms hydrogen bonds with cyanate anion , but to N, not to O.
The compound is notable as the precursor in the Wöhler synthesis of urea, an organic compound, from inorganic reactants.
This is generally credited as the first total synthesis of an organic compound. Wöhler's work with ammonium cyanate is sometimes credited for ending support for vitalism in the sciences, but this account has been criticised by both historians and chemists as reductive.