Silver nitrocyanamide

Harris [39] reports that only the following nitrocyanamide salts possess greater sensitiveness and may be considered to be of practical use potassium, tin, lead, barium and silver nitrocyanamides. 

The prepn props of Silver Nitrocyanamide, NCN.NOzAg, are given by Okazaki et al (Ref... 

Silver Nitrocyanamide. See under Cyanamide and Derivatives in Vol 3, C581-L, plus the following addnl material ... 

Hydrolysis of N -nitro-N-methylnitroguanidine (101) and Al-nitroso-N-methylnitrogu-anidine (102) with aqueous potassium hydroxide results in the formation of potassium nitrocyanamide. Addition of acidic silver nitrate solution to these reaction mixtures leads to... 

Harris [25] isolated this substance by the action of anhydrous hydrogen chloride on the solution of the silver salt of nitrocyanamide in acetonitrile. It has explosive properties but it is of no practical value due to the difficulty of preparing it. On the other hand its salts may be of practical value. These salts and their preparation will be discussed in the chapters dealing with initiating explosives (p. 211). 

The same author et al. (McKay, Hatton, G. W. Taylor [38]) prepared a number of nitrocyanamide salts by the action of the chlorides of various metals on the silver salt in suitable solvents or the by reaction of the carbonates of various metals with a solution of nitrocyanamide in acetonitrile, and found that some of these salts have initiating properties. The majority, however, cannot be recommended for practical use, their sensitiveness to impact being too low (they are not exploded by a 5 kg weight falling from a height of 300 cm). 

Comparing with the experiments of Grant and Tiffany [40] Harris states that silver and barium nitrocyanamides show an initiation capacity the same as that of an 80 20 mixture of mercury fulminate and potassium chlorate, but weaker than that of a mixture of lead azide and lead styphnate. This can be seen from Table 38 quoted by Harris ... 

Finally, alkyl halides are readily converted into isocyanates, in very good yields, by reaction with the silver salt of nitrocyanamide (equation 52)404. This is the first reported reaction for the preparation of isocyanates, from alkyl halides, that is of a general nature. The direct reaction of halides with metal cyanates gives very erratic results. 

Other reactions of aminoguanidine with nitrous acid Cyanamide salts Silver cyanamide Nitrocyanamide salts Nitrophenol salts Lead picrate Lead styphenate Lead stypheratc manufacture... 

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