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Glite Dictionary
ferrocyanide

ferrocyanide

1 9.9
A chemical salt made when cyanide combines with iron
  • noun
  • /ˌfɛroʊˈsaɪənaɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ferrocianuro
  • In chemistry class, we learned that ferrocyanide ions can form complex compounds with various metals.

Examples

  • The only cyanide in these sets was potassium ferrocyanide (non-toxic).

    Blog text (14)

  • Potassium ferrocyanide is commonly used in food processing as an anti-caking agent.

  • The artist used a pigment made from ferrocyanide to create vibrant blue colors in his paintings.

Compounds

potassium ferrocyanide
  • Specialized
9.9

A yellow chemical in small crystals that contains cyanide and is used in industry and gardening

Surface Forms

ferrocyanide singular
ferrocyanides plural

Morphology

ferrocyanide = cyanide (semi-transparent) = ferro + cyanide

Formally built from 'ferro-' (iron) + 'cyanide', but 'ferro-' is a specialised chemical combining form that many learners will not know.

Etymology

The word ferrocyanide comes from two parts: ferro- meaning 'iron' and cyanide, which is related to cyan meaning 'dark blue'. These chemicals combine iron with cyanide groups and often make deep blue salts, so the name reminds you it is a salt of iron plus cyanide.