What does cyanate mean?
A cyanate is a chemical compound that contains the cyanate ion, OCN⁻, consisting of one carbon atom bonded to both an oxygen and a nitrogen atom. Cyanates occur chiefly as salts, such as potassium cyanate and ammonium cyanate, and as organic esters. The term belongs firmly to the vocabulary of chemistry rather than everyday conversation, appearing most often in laboratory contexts, industrial processes, and academic writing. Its historical importance is considerable: in 1828, Friedrich Wöhler heated ammonium cyanate and obtained urea, demonstrating for the first time that an 'organic' substance could be made from inorganic starting materials — a result that undermined the doctrine of vitalism and reshaped modern chemistry. Care should be taken not to confuse cyanate with its near-namesakes: cyanides are dangerously toxic, while thiocyanates substitute sulfur for oxygen and isocyanates are reactive industrial building blocks used in polyurethane manufacture.
nounA salt or ester of cyanic acid, containing the univalent anion OCN⁻, in which the carbon is bonded to the oxygen and the nitrogen.
- A salt of cyanic acid containing the OCN⁻ anion.
- An ester of cyanic acid bearing the –OCN group.
"The chemist tested the solution for traces of cyanate before disposing of it."
"Ammonium cyanate rearranges into urea when gently heated."
"Excess cyanate was removed from the reaction mixture by filtration."
Used when referring collectively to multiple distinct cyanate compounds.
"Several heavy-metal cyanates were analysed in the study."
Wöhler's famous 1828 synthesis of urea from ammonium cyanate shattered the belief that 'organic' compounds could only be made by living things.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cyanate
The word cyanate was formed in the early nineteenth century by combining 'cyanogen' — itself coined around 1815 from Greek 'kyanos', meaning dark blue, after the striking blue colour of certain copper compounds of the radical — with the '-ate' suffix standard for salts and esters of acids, here cyanic acid. It thus shares its ultimate root with other chemistry terms such as cyanide and cyanogen, all tracing back to the same Greek colour word.
How cyanate is actually used
Strictly a technical term used almost exclusively in chemistry and related sciences; it does not appear in everyday speech. In chemical nomenclature, salts are named with the metal first (e.g., potassium cyanate) and esters with the organic group first (e.g., methyl cyanate).
Easily confused with cyanate
Cyanide contains the CN⁻ ion and is highly lethal to humans, whereas a cyanate contains the OCN⁻ ion and is generally far less toxic.
Thiocyanate contains the SCN⁻ group in which sulfur replaces the oxygen found in cyanate.
An isocyanate contains the NCO⁻ group, with the attachment point on nitrogen rather than carbon, and these compounds are important industrial reagents.