Formation and stability of tricyano ion

Formation of Trithiocyanate in the Oxidation of Aqueous Thiocyanate

“…The substantial reduction in K (SCN) 3 - relative to the value reported in acetonitrile is as expected, given the similar solvent effects for the analogous formation of I 3 - and Br 3 - . The small value obtained for K (SCN) 3 - is similar to that reported for (CN) 3 - , which is believed to have a structure analogous to that shown in Figure for (SCN) 3 - . , The significant disagreement between our value for ε (SCN) 3 - and that reported in acetonitrile 17 calls the latter result into question.…”

“…The trihalide ions (e.g., I 3 - ) are a well-known and thoroughly studied set of molecules. Reports of tri-pseudohalide ions are far less common, but such reports do exist, notably for (CN) 3 - . , (SCN) 3 - itself has been reported in the electrolytic oxidation of SCN - in molten NaSCN/KSCN eutectic, in the electrolytic oxidation of SCN - in acetonitrile, and in spectroelectrochemical studies using a gold minigrid electrode in aqueous solution. , This last report is questionable on the basis of other reports that gold dissolves anodically in aqueous solutions of SCN - . , One group has used electrochemical oxidation of SCN - to determine K (SCN) 3 - = 50 (±25) M -1 cm -1 and ( ε (SCN) 3 - ) 320nm = 750 (±100) M -1 cm -1 in acetonitrile…”

A study of cyanide oxidation using electrochemical/electrospray mass spectrometry

“…In the first step, the oxidation of cyanide gives cyanogen. The addition of cyanide with the cyanogen yields the unstable species, tricyanide ([C 3 N 3 ] À ) [16]. Further nucleophilic addition of cyanogen to tricyanide followed by a rearrangement (Scheme 1) leads to the formation of [C 5 N 5 ] À .…”