| Abstract | The transformation of ammonium cyanate into urea, first studied over 170 years ago by Wo¨ hler and Liebig, has an important place in the history of chemistry. To understand the nature of this solid state reaction, knowledge of the crystal structure of ammonium cyanate is a prerequisite. Employing neutron powder diffraction, we demonstrate conclusively that, in the structure of ammonium cyanate, the NH4 + cation forms N-HâââN hydrogen bonds to four cyanate N atoms at alternate corners of a distorted cube, rather than our previously proposed alternative arrangement with N-HâââO hydrogen bonds to cyanate O atoms at the other four corners. |
|---|
