| The cyanide anion (CN-) is an example of an ionic species characterized by covalent bond.
It is composed of one carbon atom and one nitrogen atom bound by
a triple bond. An unshared electron pair is present on both the carbon and the nitrogen atoms (indicated by the yellow arrows).
In addition due to the fact that this is an ionic species with a negative charge, there is one
more delocalized electron (shown in the structural formula below).
The carbon atom has 8 electrons in its valence shell, and the nitrogen atom also has 8 electrons in its valence shell. This fulfills the Octet Rule. |
| The cyanide anion has a linear molecular shape. |
| The electron pair geometry around the carbon atom is linear. There are 2 groups of electrons around the carbon and the nitrogen atoms (indicated by the red arrows). One group of electrons is represented by the triple bond, the second group of electrons is represented by the unshared electron pair. |
| This is the structural formula for the cyanide anion. Brakets are used to indicate that this is an ionic species. The ion is negatively charged. |
