Potassium Cyanate is an inorganic compound with
the formula KOCN (sometimes denoted KCNO). It is a colourless solid.
It is used to prepare many other compounds including useful herbicide.
Worldwide production of the potassium and sodium salts was 20,000 tons in 2006.
Structure and bonding
Cyanate is isoelectronic with carbon dioxide and
with azide, being linear. The C-N distance is 121 pm, about 5 pm
longer than for cyanide. Potassium cyanate is isostructural
with potassium azide
Uses
For most applications, the potassium and sodium salts can be
used interchangeably. Potassium cyanate is often preferred to the sodium salt,
which is less soluble in water and less readily available in pure form.
Potassium cyanate is used as a basic raw material for
various organic syntheses,
including, urea derivatives, semicarbazides, carbamates and isocyanates.
For example, it is used to prepare the drug hydroxyurea. It is also used
for the heat treatment of metals (e.g., Ferritic
nitrocarburizing).
Therapeutic Uses
CAS No-590-28-3 (Potassium Cyanate) has been used to
reduce the percentage of sickled erythrocytes under certain conditions and has
also increased the number of deformities. In an aqueous solution, it has
prevented irreversibly the in vitro sickling of hemoglobins containing human
erythrocytes during deoxygenization. Veterinarians have also found potassium
cyanate useful in that the cyanate salts and isocyanates can treat parasite diseases
in both birds and mammals.
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