Formyl cyanide

 ( Acyl Cyanides ) 

Formyl cyanide is a simple organic compound with the Chemical formula HCOCN and structure . It is simultaneously a nitrile () and an aldehyde (). Formyl cyanide is the simplest member of the acyl cyanide family. It is known to occur in space in the Sgr B2 molecular cloud.

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Production Formyl cyanide was first made through methoxyacetonitrile flash vacuum pyrolysis at 600 °C. The same technique with cinnamyloxyacetonitrile or allyloxyacetonitrile also generates formyl cyanide.

In molecular clouds, formation of formyl cyanide is speculated to result from formaldehyde and the cyanide radical:

In Earth's atmosphere, the pollutant acrylonitrile reacts with hydroxyl radical forming formyl cyanide, hydroperoxyl and formaldehyde:

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Reactions Formyl cyanide reacts rapidly with trace quantities of water to form formic acid and hydrogen cyanide.

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Related

By formally substituting the hydrogen atom, cyanoformyl chloride, ClC(O)CN, and cyanoformyl bromide, BrC(O)CN are obtained.

Categories: Acyl Cyanides, Nitriles

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