Strontium Cyanamide, SrCN₂

Strontium carbide absorbs nitrogen when heated to 1000°-1200° C. in an atmosphere of that gas, and, as happens in the case of barium, a mixture of cyanide and Strontium Cyanamide, SrCN₂, is produced.

If carbon dioxide is passed through an aqueous strontium cyanamide solution - obtained by dissolving strontium hydroxide crystals in aqueous cyanamide solution, filtering, and adding still more cyanamide - a crystalline powder of composition 4(SrCN₂.CO₂).9H₂O is precipitated. It is less soluble in water than the corresponding calcium compound, and is rapidly decomposed in solution.