Silver Cyanide

Silver Cyanide is used in silver-plating. Its structure consist of -Ag-CN- chains in which the linear two-coordinate Ag+ ions are bridged by the cyanide ions, typical of silver(I) and other d10 ions . (This is the same binding mode as seen in the more famous case of Prussian blue.) These chains then pack hexagonally with adjacent chains offset by +/- 1/3 of the "c" lattice parameter. This is the same as the structure adopted by the high temperature polymorph of copper(I) cyanide. The silver to carbon and silver to nitrogen bond lengths in AgCN are both ~2.09 Å and the cyanide groups show head-to-tail disorder. It has a crystal like, colorless, grey (impure) appearance.