Ammonium dicyanamide NH
4[N(CN)
2] was synthesized throughaqueous ion exchange. The crystal structure was investigated bysingle-crystal X-ray diffraction (
P2
1/
c,
a = 378.67(6) pm,
b =1240.9(3) pm,
c = 911.84(14) pm,
= 91.488(18)
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,
Z = 4). Itderives from the CsCl structure type. Medium strong hydrogenbonds between NH
4+ and [N(CN)
2]
- ions are indicative of theobserved formation of dicyandiamide H
4C
2N
4 during heating.According to DSC and temperature-dependent X-ray powderdiffractometry, this isomerization is exothermic and occurs between102 and 106
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C in the solid. The reaction represents the isolobalanalogue to the classical synthesis of urea by heating NH
4OCN.While other alkali and alkaline earth dicyanamides undergotrimerization or polymerization of their anions during heating,ammonium dicyanamide thus shows a different reactivity.