Potassium thiocyanate
Description
Colorless, deliquescent crystals. Potassium thiocyanate is used in printing and dyeing textiles. It is also used as an intensifier in photographic developing solutions for color prints.
Synonyms and Related Terms
potassium rhodanide; potassium sulfocyanate; potassium sulfocyanide; Rhocya
Risks
- Highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation.
- Skin contact causes blisters and burns.
- Decomposes with heat or acid to form hydrogen cyanide gas.
- Fisher Scientific: MSDS
Physical and Chemical Properties
Soluble in water, ethanol, acetone.
| Composition | KCNS |
|---|---|
| CAS | 333-20-0 |
| Melting Point | 173 C |
| Density | 1.88-1.89 g/ml |
| Molecular Weight | mol. wt. = 97.18 |
| Refractive Index | 1.5896, 1.6057, 1.6435 |
| Boiling Point | 500 C (dec) |
Resources and Citations
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 7866
- Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979
- Photographic chemicals: www.jetcity.com/~mrjones/chemdesc.htm
- CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Robert Weast (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, v. 61, 1980 Comment: ref. index=1.5896, 1.6057, 1.6435