Cyanide ion, as ligand

The basis for the toxicological activity of this substance is the reaction of cobalt ion with cyanide ion to form a relatively nontoxic and stable ion complex. The hexacyanocobaltate ion contains a Co2+ central metal ion with six cyanide ions as ligands. This coordination complex involves six coordinate covalent bonds whereby each cyanide ion supplies a pair of electrons to form each covalent bond with the central cobalt ion. The formation constant for the hexacyanocobaltate ion is even larger than for dicobalt EDTA,3 and thus the cobalt ion preferentially exchanges an EDTA ligand for six cyano ligands ... 

Here, effectively, the Co " (aq) is being oxidised by the nitrite ion and the latter (in excess) is simultaneously acting as a ligand to form the hexanitrocobaltate(III) anion. In presence of cyanide ion CN. cobalt(II) salts actually reduce water to hydrogen since... 

Cyano-de-diazoniations of the Sandmeyer type have been used for the synthesis of aromatic nitriles for many decades (example Clarke and Reed, 1964), as cyanide ions are comparable to bromide and iodide in many respects. A homolytic cyano-de-diazo-niation that does not use metal ions as reductant or ligand transfer reagent was described by Petrillo et al. (1987). They showed that substituted diazosulfides (XC6H4 — N2 — SC6H5), either isolated or generated in situ from arenediazonium tetrafluoroborates and sodium benzenethiolate, react with tetrabutylammonium cyanide in dimethylsulfoxide under photon stimulation, leading to nitriles (XC6H4CN). The method worked well with eleven benzenediazonium ions substituted in the 3- or 4-position, and was also used for the synthesis of phthalo-, isophthalo-, and tere-... 

The Lewis bases attached to the central metal atom or ion in a d-metal complex are known as ligands they can be either ions or molecules. An example of an ionic ligand is the cyanide ion. In the hexacyanoferrate(II) ion, [Fe(CN)6]4, the CN- ions provide the electron pairs that form bonds to the Lewis acid Fe2+. In the neutral complex Ni(CO)4, the Ni atom acts as the Lewis acid and the ligands are the CO molecules. 

These are thermodynamically relatively weak oxidants (Table 18) and their action is relatively restricted, for example, to inorganic ions of moderate reducing power such as iodide, to polyfunctional organic compounds such as hydroxy-acids, and, in the cases of Ag(I) and Cu(II), to CO and H2. Fe(III) is particularly affected by hydrolysis and all these oxidants form complexes with suitable ligands. Cyanide ion and 1,10-phenanthroline form strong complexes with Fe(III) which greatly affect its behaviour. Tris-l,10-phenanthrolineiron(III) (ferriin) displays... 

Wiberg et have performed the reaction in the presence of C-labelled cyanide ion and find no incorporation of activity into product ferrocyanide. Evidently the reversible ligand displacement proposed by the Czech workers does not take place and the electron-transfer scheme of Swinehart is preferable. Recent spectroscopic studies indicate that a complex [Fe(CN)5(CNS03)] functions as an intermediate in this reaction. 

Further ligands that can be bonded by different atoms include OCN- and NG2. Cyanide ions always are linked with their C atoms in isolated complexes, but in polymeric structures as in Prussian blue they can be coordinated via both atoms (Fe—C=N—Fe). 

The alkynylphosphine (56) reacts with Wilkinson s catalyst to give an intermediate rhodium complex, which, when treated with diphenylacetylene followed by cyanide ion, yields the diphosphine (57), of interest as a rigid chelating ligand of fixed geometry.47... 

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