Cacodyl cyanide

Cacodyl cyanide

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Names
Preferred IUPAC name Dimethylarsinous cyanide
Other names Cyanodimethylarsine
Identifiers
CAS Number	683-45-4
ChemSpider	12169
Jmol 3D model	Interactive image
PubChem	12690
RTECS number	CH2100000
InChI InChI=1S/C3H6AsN/c1-4(2)3-5/h1-2H3 Key: BXASHBJZPLFFPH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES C[As](C)C#N
Properties
Chemical formula	C3H6AsN
Molar mass	131.01 g·mol−1
Vapor pressure	{{{value}}}
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references

Cacodyl cyanide is an organoarsenic compound discovered by Robert Bunsen in the 1840s.

Properties

Cacodyl cyanide is highly toxic, producing symptoms of both cyanide and arsenic poisoning. Bunsen described it in the following terms;

This substance is extraordinarily poisonous, and for this reason its preparation and purification can only be carried on in the open air; indeed, under these circumstances, it is necessary for the operator to breathe through a long open tube so as to insure the inspiration of air free from impregnation with any trace of the vapor of this very volatile compound. If only a few grains of this substance be allowed to evaporate in a room at the ordinary temperature, the effect upon any one inspiring the air is that of sudden giddiness and insensibility, amounting to complete unconsciousness.

It is also explosive, and Bunsen himself was severely injured in the course of his experiments with cacodyl cyanide. The Russian military reportedly investigated cacodyl cyanide as a potential chemical weapon, but while it was found to be a potent lachrymatory agent, it was ultimately considered unsuitable for military use.

See also

• Cacodyl
• Cyanogen bromide
• Dimethyl(trifluoromethylthio)arsine
• Diphenylcyanoarsine
• Mercury(II) cyanide
• Mercury oxycyanide
• Methyldichloroarsine
• Trimethylarsine
• Trimethylsilyl cyanide