Aluminium cyanide is a metallic cyanide with a chemical formula of Al(CN)3.[1] It is a white solid that undergoes hydrolysis to produce aluminium hydroxide and hydrogen cyanide.[2]
Aluminium cyanide was first produced in 1924 as its ammoniate, Al(CN)3·5NH3, by reacting aluminium metal and mercury(II) cyanide in liquid ammonia to prevent hydrolysis.[1]
2 Al + 3 Hg(CN)2 → 2 Al(CN)3 + 3 HgWhen the ammoniate contacts water, it produces aluminium hydroxide, ammonia, and ammonium cyanide.[1]
The compound was produced in 2001 by the reaction of lithium tetrachloroaluminate and trimethylsilyl cyanide in diethyl ether. Its atoms form a lattice, and X-ray crystallography shows that its crystals form an octahedral Prussian-blue-like structure.[3]