Ammonium cyanide is an unstable inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is the ammonium salt of hydrogen cyanide. It consists of ammonium cations and cyanide anions . Its structural formula is .
Ammonium cyanide is generally used in organic synthesis. Being unstable, it is not shipped or sold commercially.
Ammonium cyanide is prepared by combining solutions of hydrogen cyanide and ammonia:
It may be prepared by the reaction of calcium cyanide and ammonium carbonate:
In dry state, ammonium cyanide is made by heating a mixture of potassium cyanide or potassium ferrocyanide with ammonium chloride and condensing the vapours into ammonium cyanide crystals:
Ammonium cyanide decomposes to ammonia and hydrogen cyanide, often forming a black polymer of hydrogen cyanide:
It undergoes salt metathesis reaction in solution with a number of metal salts to form metalâÂÂcyanide complexes.
Reaction with ketones and aldehydes yield aminonitriles, as in the first step of the Strecker amino acid synthesis:
Ammonium cyanide is highly toxic.