Alkali metal complexes cyanides

Thus, co-deposition of silver and copper can take place only when the silver concentration in the electrolyte falls to a very low level. This clearly indicates that the electrolytic process can, instead, be used for separating copper from silver. When both silver and copper ions are present, the initial deposition will mainly be of silver and the deposition of copper will take place only when the concentration of silver becomes very low. Another example worth considering here is the co-deposition of copper and zinc. Under normal conditions, the co-deposition of copper and zinc from an electrolyte containing copper and zinc sulfates is not feasible because of the large difference in the electrode potentials. If, however, an excess of alkali cyanides is added to the solution, both the metals form complex cyanides the cuprocyanide complex is much more stable than the zinc cyanide complex and thus the concentration of the free copper ions available for deposition is considerably reduced. As a result of this, the deposition potentials for copper and zinc become very close and their co-deposition can take place to form alloys. 

Alkali metal boratabenzenes have a wide synthetic applicability just like alkali metal cyclopentadienides. Two syntheses have been developed Ashe s synthesis via organotin intermediates (23) and our cyanide degradation of bis (boratabenzene) cobalt complexes (61). 

Alkali metal boratabenzenes may be liberated from bis (boratabenzene) cobalt complexes 7 and 13 by reductive degradation with elemental Li, sodium amalgam, or Na/K alloy (60), or alternatively by degradation with cyanides (61). The latter method has been developed in detail (Scheme 4). It produces spectroscopically pure ( H-NMR control) solutions of the products 26 the excess alkali metal cyanide and the undefined cyanocobalt compounds produced are essentially insoluble in acetonitrile. 

The alkali metal cyanides are very soluble in water. As a result, they readily dissociate into their respective anions and cations when released into water. Depending on the pH of the water, the resulting cyanide ion may then form hydrogen cyanide or react with various metals in natural water. The proportion of hydrogen cyanide formed from soluble cyanides increases as the water pH decreases. At pH <7, >99% of the cyanide ions in water is converted to hydrogen cyanide (Towill et al. 1978). As the pH increases, cyanide ions in the water may form complex metallocyanides in the presence of excess cyanides however, if metals are prevalent, simple metal cyanides are formed. Unlike water-soluble alkali metal cyanides, insoluble metal cyanides such as are not expected to degrade to hydrogen cyanide (Callahan et al. 1979). 

Alkali metal salts of such tetracyanonickelate(II) anion may be crystallized from such solutions as hydrates, K2 [Ni(CN)4 3H2O upon evaporation of the solution. In strong cyanide solution, a pentacyano complex anion, red penta-cyanonickelate(ll), [Ni(CN)5] forms. Strong acids decompose cyanonickelate salts, precipitating nickel cyanide. 

Complexation constants of crown ethers and cryptands for alkali metal salts depend on the cavity sizes of the macrocycles 152,153). ln phase transfer nucleophilic reactions catalyzed by polymer-supported crown ethers and cryptands, rates may vary with the alkali cation. When a catalyst 41 with an 18-membered ring was used for Br-I exchange reactions, rates decreased with a change in salt from KI to Nal, whereas catalyst 40 bearing a 15-membered ring gave the opposite effect (Table 10)l49). A similar rate difference was observed for cyanide displacement reactions with polymer-supported cryptands in which the size of the cavity was varied 141). Polymer-supported phosphonium salt 4, as expected, gave no cation dependence of rates (Table 10). 

Alkylation of Alkali Metal Cyanides by Alkyl Halides Activated in the a-Posi-tion by a Double Bond. When a mixture consisting of 4 to 8 moles of an alkyl halide activated in the apposition by a double bond is heated with 1 mole of alkali metal ferrocyanide, several alkylation products of the ferrocyanide anion can be isolated from the reaction mixture (12). The relative proportions of the tetra-, penta-, and hexaalkylated complexes can be varied by varying the alkyl halide to ferrocyanide ratio and the time of reaction. When potassium ferrocyanide is alkylated with benzyl bromide at a ratio of 4 alkyl halides to ferrocyanide anion, short reaction times favor the tetraalkylated complex an 8 to 1 ratio and long reaction times favor the hexaalkylated complex of the alkylating agents tested benzyl bromide provided the fastest alkylation ... 

In liquid ammonia, hexacyanochromates(II) can be reduced to the diamagnetic chromium(O) complexes M6[Cr(CN)6] by the appropriate alkali metal. The K salt was earlier obtained by reduction of K3[Cr(CN)6], Greater metal-ligand jt bonding is presumably responsible for the lower CN stretching frequencies of M6[Cr(CN)6]. The potassium salt is oxidized to K3[Cr(CN)6] by ammonium cyanide in liquid ammonia (equation l).12... 

Alkali metal 1-methyl- and 1-phenyl-borinates are also available from bis(borinato)cobalt complexes (see below) on treatment with sodium or potassium cyanide in an aprotic solvent like acetonitrile. Cobalt cyanide precipitates and the alkali borinate remains in solution. After addition of thallium(I) chloride to some complexes, thallium 1-methyl- or 1-phenyl-borinate could be isolated as pale yellow solids, the only main group borinates isolated hitherto. They are insoluble in most organic solvents but readily soluble in pyridine and DMSO. The solids are stable on treatment with water and aqueous potassium hydride, but are decomposed by acids <78JOM(153)265). 

The complications which result from the hydrolysis of alkali metal cyanides in aqueous media may be avoided by the use of non-aqueous solvents. The one most often employed is liquid ammonia, in which derivatives of some of the lanthanides and of titanium(III) may be obtained from the metal halides and cyanide.13 By addition of potassium as reductant, complexes of cobalt(O), nickel(O), titanium(II) and titanium(III) may be prepared and a complex of zirconium(0) has been obtained in a remarkable disproportion of zirconium(III) into zirconium(IV) and zirconium(0).14 Other solvents which have been shown to be suitable for halide-cyanide exchange reactions include ethanol, methanol, tetrahydrofuran, dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide. With their aid, species of different stoichiometry from those isolated from aqueous media can sometimes be made [Hg(CN)3], for example, is obtained as its cesium salt form CsF, KCN and Hg(CN)2 in ethanol.15... 

This test is performed to determine the amount of cyanide in the sample that would react with chlorine. Not all cyanides in a sample are amenable to chlorination. While HCN, alkali metal cyanides, and CN- of some complex cyanides react with chlorine, cyanide in certain complexes that are tightly bound to the metal ions are not decomposed by chlorine. Calcium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, and chloramine are some of the common chlorinating agents that may be used as a source of chlorine. The chlorination reaction is performed at a pH between 11 and 12. Under such an alkaline condition, cyanide reacts with chlorine to form cyanogen chloride, a gas at room temperature, which escapes out. Cyanide amenable to chlorination is therefore calculated as the total cyanide content initially in the sample minus the total cyanide left in the sample after chlorine treatment. 

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