Direct cyanidation of silver sulfide by heterolytic C-CN bond cleavage of acetonitrile

Extraction of silver as silver cyanide from silver sulfide was made possible using acetonitrile as the source of cyanide. The process of cyanidation took place through the oxidation of sulfide to sulfur oxides and cleavage of the C-CN bond of acetonitrile. The reaction was found to be catalyzed by vanadium pentoxide and hydrogen peroxide. The different species involved in the cyanidation process were duly characterized using FTIR, ESI-MS, HRMS, XPS and UV-vis spectroscopic analysis. The mechanism of the cyanidation process was confirmed through in situ FTIR analysis.