page_title: Isocyanide
section_title: Ligands in coordination chemistry
hierarchical_section_title: Isocyanide / Reactions / Ligands in coordination chemistry
caption_attribution_description: English: Chemical structure of the complex cation in Cardiolite
context_page_description: An isocyanide is an organic compound with the functional group -N≡C. It is the isomer of the related nitrile, hence the prefix is isocyano. The organic fragment is connected to the isocyanide group through the nitrogen atom, not via the carbon. They are used as building blocks for the synthesis of other compounds.
context_section_description: Isocyanides form coordination complexes with most transition metals. They behave as electron-rich analogues of carbon monoxide. For example tert-butyl isocyanide forms Fe₂(tBuNC)₉, which is analogous to Fe₂(CO)₉. Although structurally similar, the analogous carbonyls differ in several ways, mainly because t-BuNC is a better donor ligand than CO. Thus, Fe(tBuNC)₅ is easily protonated, whereas its counterpart Fe(CO)₅ is not.
caption: Technetium sestamibi is a commercial isocyanide complex that is used in medicine for imaging.
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