Sodium cyanide is in a cubic crystal system, presenting as white crystalline particles or powder. It is prone to deliquescence and has a faint almond-like odor. It is highly toxic. Skin wounds, inhalation, and ingestion of a small amount can cause poisoning and death. Its chemical formula is NaCN. Its melting point is 563.7℃ and its boiling point is 1496℃. It is soluble in water and readily hydrolyzes to form hydrogen cyanide. The aqueous solution is strongly alkaline and is an important basic chemical raw material, used in basic chemical synthesis, electroplating, metallurgy, and organic synthesis of medicine, pesticides, and metal treatment. It is a complexing agent, masking agent. It is a compound containing cyanide ion (CN).

Sodium cyanide is an important basic chemical raw material, used in basic chemical synthesis, electroplating, metallurgy, and organic synthesis for medicine, pesticides, and metal treatment. It is also used as a complexing agent, masking agent, for the extraction and electroplating of precious metals such as gold and silver. [4]

It is used as a quenching agent for various types of steel in the machinery industry.

It is the main component used in electroplating industries for plating copper, silver, cadmium and zinc, etc. In the electroplating solution, it can reduce the anode polarization effect, ensure the normal dissolution of the anode, stabilize the plating solution and enhance the cathode polarization effect, thereby achieving a uniform coating. [3]

It is used in the metallurgical industry for extracting precious metals such as gold and silver.

In the chemical industry, it is used to produce various inorganic cyanides and raw materials for hydrogen cyanide, and is also employed in the manufacture of organic glass, various synthetic materials, nitrile rubber, and copolymers of synthetic fibers.

It is used in the dye industry to produce trichlorocyanine (an intermediate for reactive dyes, and also a raw material for the production of whitening agents).

In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used for manufacturing compounds such as methyl cyanoacetic acid and diethyl malonic acid. In the textile industry, it is used as a mordant and also for liquid carburizing and nitriding of steel.

The important inorganic cyanides produced directly by using sodium cyanide mainly include sodium hematin, potassium hematin, potassium cyanide, zinc cyanide, barium cyanide, copper cyanide, sodium thiocyanate, potassium thiocyanate; organic cyanides include cyanic acid, propionitrile, methionine, cyanobenzyl, trichlorocyanine, etc. The main products produced by the reaction of hydrogen cyanide generated from sodium cyanide are: methyl methacrylate, methyl butacrylate, methacrylic acid, azobisisobutyronitrile, azobisisodecynitrile, secondary amino triethanoic acid, hydroxyacrylonitrile, etc.