Thiocyanate

Thiocyanate (also known as sulphocyanate) is a functional group consisting of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen:

S=C=N^-

It has a charge of 1^-.

It is analogous to the cyanate ion, with oxygen replaced by sulfur. This makes it one of the pseudo-halogens, due to its similarity with halogen ions. It was formerly known as rhodanide (from a Greek word for rose) because of its red colour in solution.

Its isomer is the isothiocyanate ion, NCS^-.

Thiocyanate is produced in living organisms as the first step in the detoxification of cyanide; the enzyme responsible is a sulfotransferase known as rhodanese .