Oxidation of the cyanide ion produces the stable cyanate ion (OCN2). The fulminate ion (CNO2), on the

Question:

Oxidation of the cyanide ion produces the stable cyanate ion (OCN2). The fulminate ion (CNO2), on the other hand, is very unstable. Fulminate salts explode when struck; Hg(CNO)2 is used in blasting caps. Write the Lewis structures and assign formal charges for the cyanate and fulminate ions. Why is the fulminate ion so un-stable? (C is the central atom in OCN2, and N is the central atom in CNO2.)