ammonium cyanate
Quick Summary
Ammonium cyanate is an inorganic white crystalline salt with the chemical formula NH4CNO. It is notable for its ability to be converted into organic urea.1
The term "cyanate" refers to a compound containing the monovalent combining group CNO. While ammonium cyanate itself is not described as toxic, other cyanide compounds, such as sodium cyanide (NaCN), are highly toxic. Organic cyanides, also known as nitriles, contain a CN group linked to a carbon-containing group.2
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- urea
…German chemist Friedrich Wöhler from ammonium cyanate in 1828 was the first generally accepted laboratory synthesis of a naturally occurring organic compound from inorganic materials. Urea is now prepared commercially in vast amounts from liquid ammonia and liquid carbon dioxide. These two materials are combined under high pressures and elevated…
Read More…German chemist Friedrich Wöhler from ammonium cyanate in 1828 was the first generally accepted laboratory synthesis of a naturally occurring organic compound from inorganic materials. Urea is now prepared commercially in vast amounts from liquid ammonia and liquid carbon dioxide. These two materials are combined under high pressures and elevated…
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chemical compoundHistorical developments…to make the inorganic substance ammonium cyanate. To his complete surprise, he obtained a product that had the same molecular formula as ammonium cyanate but was instead the well-known organic compound urea. From this serendipitous result, Wöhler correctly concluded that atoms could arrange themselves into molecules in different ways, and…
Read More…to make the inorganic substance ammonium cyanate. To his complete surprise, he obtained a product that had the same molecular formula as ammonium cyanate but was instead the well-known organic compound urea. From this serendipitous result, Wöhler correctly concluded that atoms could arrange themselves into molecules in different ways, and…
Read More